Don't Hurt Me
by Life imitated art
Summary: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon have a hard time trusting each other and both are very insecure. Story isnt very heavy, more like cute day to day life.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Stephanie's POV:

"Come on, Lynn. I told you not to bring me here," I whined as she pushed me to the doors of the newest and latest nightclub.

"Steph, it's your twenty-first birthday. You need to party! You're a woman now! AND, I haven't introduced you to my family and their friends yet," Lynn responded.

I will admit that I was very excited about meeting her family. She had talked so much about them. According to Lynn, she had two brothers, Paul and Shawn (Shawn was just a really good friend.) Shawn was dating a girl named Rebecca. She had never mentioned Paul having a relationship before… I began to think about it. I began to think out loud.

"Is Paul taken, Lynn?" I asked.

"Nope; He's been single for what seems like forever! I've been trying to hook him up any chance I got. He's so unhappy looking," said Lynn.

Suddenly, something inside my mind clicked.

"You're trying to hook me up with your brother!" I yelled and stopped in the very entrance of the club. Lynn grinned and started laughing.

"Dang, you're good."

"LYNN! I told you to not worry about my romantic status! I don't know who Paul is!"

"He's my brother and you're going to like him. I promise. I think you two will look great next to each other. Trust me, when I have let you down?" she asked and made me keep walking. I kept silent after her comment. She was going to argue with me no matter what. I didn't want to mention that I thought I looked like a whore. My deep red dress ended right at the knee. It was pretty low-cut and could show some of my cleavage. I did like it because the skirt flared out when I would spin.

The club felt like it had a heartbeat. Walls were shaking with the music. For some reason, my adrenaline began to rush. I was excited to be here. Lynn led me to a table with some of the most beautiful people I've ever seen with my eyes. It was a round table with five people sitting there.

"Steph…let me introduce you to my family," Lynn began. She motioned to a man sitting on the edge of the round seat. He was a big man that was very handsome. He was very handsome. "This is Shawn…next to him is his fiancée, Rebecca." Rebecca nodded at me. She was gorgeous and made me feel ugly. She had dark brown hair and had a tan complexion. She was built like a model. "Next to Becca, is my boyfriend Peter." Peter was cute enough. He was short and had dark.

Next to Peter was the most beautiful man I'd ever met. He was GORGEOUS. He had brown eyes I could melt into. He was tan and very much built. His blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His lips were plump. What I could see of his body was amazing. He was built like a Greek god.

Lynn's voice woke me from my thoughts… "And this, Stephanie, is Paul."

He stood up from the table and bowed towards me. He took my hand and lightly kissed the top of it. "It's nice to meet such a beautiful lady."

I blushed.

"Sit down, Steph!" Lynn said. She shoved me in next to Paul, who had just sat back down.

"Lynn, aren't you going to sit next to me?" Peter asked. Then, Lynn made Paul and I scoot down so she could be next to Peter.

The waiter came over and took our order then left. Suddenly, we all became silent. A great song came over the booming music. It was "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna.

I saw Lynn whispering something into Paul's ear. He began to frown and shake his head 'no'. I looked the other way at the dancers on the floor…my concentration was broken by a shove.

Paul gasped and suddenly blurted out, "Steph, would you like to dance?"

I walked out on the dance floor with him following behind me. Suddenly, I felt arms around my waist. Two hands turned me around to face Paul. He looked down at me. Suddenly, everything felt like it stopped. All I could hear was the pulse of the song.

I didn't want the music to stop. He was beginning to get closer to me. Oh my goodness, I wouldn't mind to smell this for the rest of my life, I thought to myself.

Suddenly, the song changed to a slow song. The DJ said "This is for all you lovers out there…" over the sound system. My heart pounded. I didn't want to stop dancing yet! I hope Paul wants to keep dancing.

The song was "My Immortal" by Evanescence. This is possibly my favorite song by them.

"Oh, I love this song," Paul commented to me.

"I do, too."

I looked over and saw Lynn and Peter dancing together. I also saw Shawn and Rebecca dancing together.

"Would you like to continue dancing?" he asked me.

"I would be upset if you made us stop," I flirted back.

He wrapped his strong arms around my waist. I looked up into his brown eyes. I wanted to hold him close to me and never let go. He smiled at me.

"I love to see you when you blush," Paul said. Oh my goodness! I didn't even know I was blushing. He chuckled at my reaction. "Oh don't worry, Steph. I think it's cute."

I looked down from his eyes. I wanted to soak up this moment so much. I felt Paul's arm move behind me. He slowly pushed my head onto his rock-hard chest.

Suddenly, everything in my life felt complete.

I felt no more pain about my parent's death. I used to feel so alone in the world and I was depressed all the time. If I start dating Paul, I would never feel sad again. I knew this in my heart at this very moment.

"So, Steph…" Paul began. "What sort of things do you like? Like, what's your favorite band?"

"Um, I like a little bit of everything. I don't much love country or rap. I do like everything else though. I love Green Day," I responded.

"I love Green Day too," he replied happily. "You know, Lynn has told me everything about you."

"Really?" I was not as surprised as I sounded.

"Yeah. I normally don't like it when she tries to set me up with someone…but I'm not sure what to think about this time," he said nervously. My heart fluttered. I hoped that was a good sign.

Soon, the song ended and a new song began. Lynn, Peter, Shawn, and Rebecca all went back to our table. Paul and I followed them.

For the first time in a long time, I didn't want the night to end.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Paul's POV:

What has Lynn got me into now? I told her long ago I didn't want to date anyone. But she has always kept trying…. Now, I'm sitting at a table with Shawn, Rebecca, Peter, Lynn and the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

Things have changed for me in less than an hour, normally…

I don't like to dance.

I don't want to date someone.

I don't like clubs.

I have no idea what's happened. But all I know is that something felt right between Steph and I.

"So, Paul, what are some of your favorite things?" her luxurious voice asked me.

"I like a lot of stuff. I enjoy music the most. It's my escape from lots of things. Rock is my favorite genre." I answered. I hope I wasn't babbling to her, so I stopped.

"That's cool. Do you like movies?" asked Stephanie.

"Yeah. I like almost all types of movies. I don't like slasher movies. I mean—I like horror movies such as _1408_."

"So, you like a ghost story, huh?" Shawn asked. I nodded.

"Steph, I love your dress. Where'd you get it?" Rebecca commented. Conversation began between everyone. However, I couldn't stop staring at the beauty next to me. When she smiled, the whole room lit up. Her brown curls bounced up and down when she would laugh at a joke Lynn would tell. She was an angel.

"Paul?" Stephanie giggled which startled me from my daydreaming.

"Yes?" I responded embarrassed.

Lynn and Becca awed very loudly.

"He was staring at you!" Peter exclaimed. Shawn and Peter cracked up and high-fived each other. I glared at them. Stephanie blushed again.

Lynn leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, "Do you like her?" She sounded so hopeful. I couldn't lie to my sister about this; so I nodded. She began to look very smug. All I could do was roll my eyes.

After finishing our meals and dancing for a few more songs, we all decided it was time to leave. Everyone began out the doors. I felt a tug on my sleeve. It was Lynn.

"You know it's her birthday right? And she's never had a boyfriend…" Lynn hinted. "I can see it. She likes you! She thinks you're gorgeous!"

"I'm not asking her out tonight, Lynn," I refused.

"WHY NOT?" she whispered loudly.

"Because we just met tonight. I think she is absolutely amazing and I would love to keep seeing her. But I want to get to know her personality better. For all I know, if I did ask tonight, she could say no because she doesn't know me well," I admitted.

"Peter and I have both had a craving for ice cream tonight. When we're all back into the car, we're going to Baskin Robbins. What I want you to do is sit at a table all by yourselves while eating ice cream. Peter, Shawn, Becca and I will leave you both alone. There were sparks between you two on the dance floor tonight. You two are something special," she explained. I just nodded and we both headed off to the car.

The car ride over to Baskin Robbins was perfect bliss to me. Steph had become very drowsy in the car. She (very bravely) laid her head on my shoulder and began to drift off. It was instinct that I laid my head on top of hers. My eyes closed and I began to smile.

Sooner than I wanted, we arrived at Baskin Robbins. I softly nudged Steph's shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open gracefully. My heart fluttered as well.

Her voice cracked as she said, "W-what?"

OH I AM SO IN LOVE!

"We're at Baskin Robbins, Steph," Shawn blurted out before I could.

*This is an old story so don't be too mean.*


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Stephanie's POV:

I couldn't help but fall asleep. And when Paul woke me up… I thought I died and went to heaven.

Oh my goodness! What if I drooled on his shoulder? Do I snore? I HAVE to talk to Lynn once we get in here.

Rebecca, Peter, Shawn, and Paul began to get out of the huge Hummer. Lynn fussed at me, "Come on Steph. We don't have all night. Baskin Robbins closes in about 45 minutes!"

I rolled my eyes and unbuckled. As I slid out of the car (with Lynn behind me), I noticed that Paul was staring at me. As soon as my eyes met his, he looked away and blushed in the darkness.

"Let's go in," he said quietly. The rest of the group stayed behind and kept talking. We entered the cold, colorful ice cream parlor.

"What do you want? My buy," he offered. He shouldn't have to pay.

"No, Paul. I'll buy yours."

"It's your birthday, Steph," he argued. I sighed heavily. He smiled a smile that made the room light up. Oh, how I wanted to continue looking at that for the rest of my days. "So, what flavor do you want?"

I looked over the 31 flavors. Banana Bubble Gum Split sounded disgusting to me. Strawberry Mint Madness? GAG! I was in the mood for a coffee flavor.

"I think I want a small cappuccino blast, please," I told Paul.

He took both of our orders and we sat down at a small table next to the window with our ice cream. The rest of the group got their ice cream and sat down at a table across the restaurant from us.

"That's strange," I commented.

"What?" Paul asked.

"Are we getting on their nerves? Is Lynn mad at us?" I worried out loud.

"Nah. When we left the club, Lynn was begging me to ask you out tonight. I told her no," he began. I suddenly felt sad. He must have noticed. "No, I don't mean that as an insult. It's because we barely know each other. The reason why I haven't dated loads of people is because I don't know them well enough to trust them. Yes, I have had a few girlfriends off and on. Still, I didn't trust them. Steph, you are a beautiful woman. I want to trust you so we could stay together longer than a few weeks," he admitted.

"So, after a few more dates, we could officially call ourselves boyfriend-girlfriend?" I asked curiously.

"Of course. I just want to know your personality," Paul answered.

That's perfectly reasonable.

"Let me start then… why are some reasons why you and exes have broken up?"

"I had dated a girl named Joanie a few years ago. I really liked her too. Well, one night, Lynn was having a big shindig while our parents, Paul and Patricia, were in Hawaii. All my friends were there and lots of other people were too. I had gone back into the kitchen to fix more snacks and drinks… and when I came out, I couldn't find Joanie. Finally, I found her. She broke up with me for my best friend Jack. This killed me. I ran away for a few weeks just because I needed to be alone," he told.

"That's just one of the two girlfriends though," he admitted. He looked sad now. Oh, I would never hurt him like that Joanie did.

"Who was the other girl?" I wondered.

"Eh, we didn't date for very long. Her name was Kim. She was such a dolt that I couldn't bear to continue dating her," he explained. His comment about Kim made me laugh.

"I guess since I told about my past relationships, to be fair, you have to tell about yours," he joked. I smiled.

"Well, I've never had a boyfriend before. I've had guys just beg and beg to be my boyfriend, but I just wasn't interested. I've had a few crushes, but of course, they didn't like me. I wasn't good enough for them," I said.

"You're good enough for me," he whispered so low that I could barely hear him.

"This may be a dumb question…but are you a….umm…," I began embarrassed.

"Virgin?" he finished for me.

"Yeah."

"Yes. Thank goodness. I'm looking for the right person to share that with. I guess I'm the only 21 year old virgin around!"

"You're looking at a 21 year old virgin sitting right here in front of you!" I exclaimed softly. He gave me a shocked look.

"Let's change the subject….. So, what are your parent's names?" he asked.

Not the dreaded question… I try not to mention my parents. I could barely remember them anyway.

"Well, Paul—I think Lynn failed to mention something to you about me…"

"What's the matter?"

"My parents died when I was very little. I can remember going off to pre-school one day…and when I came back, police met me in our living room. Mom and Dad weren't there. However, some of my aunts and uncles were there. Basically, everyone in my family except my parents was there. Everyone was crying or looked very sad. The policeman told me, 'Stephanie, your parents died today. They were killed in a car wreck.' He didn't even try to put it in a nicer way for me," I told. I was trying to hide my sadness. I don't like remembering that day.

"Steph, I don't think there is a nicer way to say a tragedy like that," he said quietly.

"I know it. But it bothered me then and it bothers me now. But, whatever. By the way, the answer to your question is that their names were Vince and Linda."

"I am so sorry. I shouldn't have asked that," he apologized. A look of sympathy was in his eyes.

I sighed. "No. I'm glad you did ask. You needed to hear about this. See, now you know to not make a dead parents joke!" I tried to lighten up the mood. He chuckled. Oh my goodness… his laughter made me dizzy. He would be the death of me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Paul's POV:

This poor girl! Where is she staying? Does she live alone?

As if she was reading my mind, she said, "Lynn says that I'm living with you all for a while. I normally live alone." My heart started to beat loudly. I hope Steph can't hear that, I thought.

"When are you going to begin staying with us?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"Tonight will be my first night," she stated.

I would kill Lynn later. I needed to talk to her NOW.

"Lynn," I called out.

She looked up from her ice cream. "Yeah?"

"Can we talk outside? Now? Right now?" I asked as nicely as I could. She nodded and followed me outside. I tried to walk to a section so Stephanie couldn't see me from the window.

"What do you need, Pauly?" asked Lynn.

"Umm…. So Steph's going to be living with us?"

"Yeah. She's alone all of the time. She needs someone to be with her. And Rebecca and I are bored," she explained.

"You never mentioned this to me," I said aggravated.

"I knew you would say no because you don't want to be in love again," she argued. She looked up at me with fire in her eyes.

"Lynn, I don't want to be hurt again!" I cried out.

"You haven't given her a chance so you don't know if she will hurt you or not."

Her statement shocked me. My mind went blank of all things.

"Yeah. That's what I thought. You're just being insecure. Paul, I love you. You know that. I know your personality and I know Steph's. Just trust me here. Please."

I nodded and walked back into Baskin Robbins. Stephanie was sitting with the rest of the group. She was white as a ghost and there were a few tear stains on her face. She stared at me. Rebecca looked mad. Peter and Shawn were talking amongst themselves.

Once I got to the table, Rebecca already began to talk. She sighed deeply. "Paul… why don't you want Steph to stay with us?"

"What?" I was confused.

"You left her as soon as she told her that she was staying for a while. She saw you talking to Lynn and you looked angry!"

I sighed now and said calmly, "Steph… I'll explain why I left earlier to you later. And in private."

She nodded.

"Talk to her now," Peter said. "Outside."

She began to walk outside. I followed her.

"Why did you leave?" she asked sadly.

My stomach churned inside of me. "Because I don't want to be hurt. You have no idea how much I want to be with you." I took her hands into mine. I realized she was shaking. "I'm afraid of getting hurt again, so I avoid relationships. I had another reason why I went out to talk to Lynn. Tonight, you told me about some of the pain you've suffered through. I will admit, I don't want you to be alone. But then, I'm afraid that I'll hurt you and make you go through more pain! I'm not good for you, Steph. I'm not sure if I'm stable enough for a relationship." I was beginning to get hysterical.

I felt arms around me. Steph looked up into my eyes and said, "I'm not going to hurt you and I'm not planning on hurting you."

I couldn't control myself after this. I lifted her head up and kissed her lips hard. I held the kiss for as long as I could until I needed a breath. I looked at her…embarrassed.

She was smiling so big. "That's what I've been waiting for all night," she stated.

She turned around and headed back for Baskin Robbins. She missed the step into the store and began to fall. I ran over as fast as I could and caught her before she hit the ground.

"That's one thing I didn't mention to you, Paul. I am a bit clumsy," she giggled. I couldn't help but smile at her.

This girl would be the death of me.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Stephanie's POV:

We left Baskin Robbins about 20 minutes before it closed. Lynn had already had my stuff sent to their house while we were at the club. The car ride back to the Levesques's house was silent. I was surprisingly nervous about going to their home. What if their parents didn't like me?

We arrived at an old Victorian house that was in the middle of nowhere. It was one of the biggest houses I have ever seen in my life. Bushes and trees surrounded the big green yard around it. Chinese paper lanterns decorated the front wraparound porch. The house had a balcony on the side that overlooked the surrounding land. The house was very detailed and beautiful.

A handsome man and a beautiful woman came out onto the front porch and sat down on a swing.

"There are mom and dad," Lynn commented. The man had a body slightly smaller than Paul's and a facial structure that reminded me of Lynn's. Paul's mom was very beautiful. Her chestnut hair was curled softly. She was small like Lynn.

We pulled into the garage. Paul got out and helped me out of the tall Hummer. I liked Paul a lot. He was such a gentleman about everything.

Everyone walked together to the front step when Paul put his arm around my waist. My skin always felt as if it caught fire every time he touched me. Now, I could feel his thumb rubbing one of the lowest parts of my back softly. Oh my goodness… he was TRYING to kill me.

"Mom, Dad, this is Steph," Lynn said. "She's my best friend."

"She looks like someone else's best friend too," Peter commented. Shawn and Peter snickered from behind Paul and me.

Mr. Levesque walked down in front of me and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you, Stephanie," he greeted. Mrs. Levesque did the same.

"Thank you for letting me stay at your house Mr. and Mrs. Levesque," I thanked. They smiled.

"Call us Paul and Patricia," Patricia insisted. I smiled in return. Why was I so nervous of meeting Paul's parents? They seem nice enough.

"Come on in, Steph," Lynn said. She pulled me from Paul's arms. Before I got in the door, I heard Paul Sr. say to Paul, "Keep a hold of her. I like her."

THEY APPROVE! My heart jumped for joy inside my chest.

"Did you hear that, Steph?" Lynn startled me.

"What'd I hear?"

"What dad said to Paul?"

"Oh, yes, I heard."

"I feel like a good matchmaker right now." She joked. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "Want to come see my room?" I nodded.

We walked up two flights of stairs until we reached one doorway that lead to the attic. The door had a dark storm cloud with a lightning bolt coming out of it. It was very Lynn.

My chin dropped as soon as the door opened. I expected the room to be a small dusty attic. But no, it was the complete opposite. The room was amazing! It was a deep red room with hard wood floors. There was a huge sleigh bed on one side of the room. A small desk with a beautiful laptop on top sat next to it. On the other side of the room, was a big flat screen TV hooked up to a Nintendo Wii. In the corner was a box full of guitars for guitar hero. On the wall opposite from the Wii was a stereo with a shelf full of CDs.

My bags were sitting on a couch in front of the television. I slowly walked in and took in all of the room.

"The bathroom is right back there…" Lynn pointed back to a door next to the stereo.

"Hey, Lynn, can I go change into PJ's real quick?" I asked nicely. She smiled and nodded.

I grabbed a pair of pajamas from my bag and ran into the bathroom. I quickly undressed and dressed again. I began thinking about Paul. Oh, I wanted to kiss him again. I began to dance around the room, pretending to be dancing with Paul again. Suddenly, I slipped on a small rug in front of the shower. I fell down and hit my head on the toilet. Everything began to turn black… before I was out completely; I heard footsteps running towards me.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Steph's POV:

Everything was dark and silent. It was peaceful, kind of.

A creamy, rich voice called out to me, "Steph…Stephanie…can you hear me?"

"Steph, if you can hear me, do something, anything!" the voice said again.

Soon, I could see things again. It was all blurry. I blinked my eyes over and over again. Finally, everything was clear. Paul, Lynn, Paul Sr., and Patricia were surrounding me. I was lying on the couch in Lynn's room. Paul pushes a piece of hair out of my face. His fingers brushed against my forehead. I shivered.

"Oh, that's not good. She's cold. Isn't that a sign of a severe concussion?" Lynn asked. Paul looked at her stupidly.

"I think I know why she shivered…" Patricia said quietly. I blushed."Being cold has nothing to do with a concussion… I don't even think she has one. I do know that she has definitely bumped her head pretty hard. Steph, are you okay?" Patricia asked. I nodded. My head was banging.

"Oh, this is my entire fault! I shouldn't have let her change!" Lynn cried.

"It's no one's fault, Lynn. What would you have done? Told her, 'No, you may not change'? That would be silly. It was just an accident," Paul Sr. comforted.

Paul was staying silent. My stomach began to churn. I looked over at Lynn and Patricia quietly talking.

"Paul, you're being awfully silent. You haven't said anything your little girlfriend since she woke up," Paul Sr. commented. Oh! Am I his little girlfriend? My heart fluttered. I glanced to Paul who was beet-red and smirking.

"U-um… w-what exactly happened?" Paul finally asked.

"I slipped on the rug in the bathroom. And I hit my head," I said softly.

"I think we all know this," Peter said as he entered the room. "You okay, Steph?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Peter," I thanked.

I shifted myself on the couch. I felt an ice pack at the very top of my neck.

"Hey, Steph… are you feeling up to watching a movie with us? Rebecca wants to watch something," Shawn offered.

"No, Steph is not allowed to get up off of this couch for a little while. You can watch it up here if you want." Patricia ordered.

"No, we don't want to watch it up here because there's not enough room. Well, maybe tomorrow," Shawn said. Rebecca followed him when he left. Soon, everyone except Paul and I had left.

"I hope you feel better," Paul said and began to head for the door.

"No, please don't leave me," I begged. My head banged inside of my skull. He turned back to me with a confused look on his face. "I don't want to be alone; especially in a house that I don't know very well."

He walked slowly to a chair across from the couch I was lying on. He sat down with his legs wide open. GOSH! He's trying to kill me.

"Did you have fun tonight?" I asked to break the silence.

"I had fun until you almost killed yourself in that bathroom. What exactly happened? Honestly too. You can tell me the truth," Paul insisted. Oh crap! What was I going to say? 'I imagined myself dancing with you again when I slipped on the rug and fell.' Or would just flat out telling him be for the best? I was going to tell him. Take a deep breath in, Stephanie McMahon.

"The true reason on why I fell… and you have to SWEAR to me to not tell Lynn or trust me, you will die…" He laughed. "I was changing in the bathroom into my pajamas. And I began thinking about you and me…dancing. I fell on the rug when I was spinning around."

His face was blank. Absolutely no expression at all.

"Are you going to say something? Anything? Just say SOMETHING Paul," I cried out.

All he did was leave the room. And all I could do was scream in frustration. I honestly told him how I fell. What is the matter with him?

I heard footsteps rushing up to Lynn's bedroom. Lynn flew through the open door.

"What's wrong? I heard you scream," she said looking scared.

"PAUL! He is such an ass!" I screamed back at her.

"Wha-what? What happened, Steph?"

"I told him the real reason why I fell. I'm not going to repeat it but lets just say that it has something to do with him… and he left the room without saying anything! I think he's mad at me! He told me he wanted to be in a relationship with me… but if I ever say something that doesn't quite please him. He leaves without saying a word! He's really beginning to piss me off!" I ranted.

Her chin dropped. "He left?"

"Yes. He left. No words spoken. I asked him to say something to me…anything about how he was thinking. He just left! I really like him, Lynn! I do! But I don't like these sudden mood swings that he has!"

"I am so sorry, Steph. I'll talk to him if you want me to," Lynn offered.

"Do whatever you want," I said sadly.

Lynn pressed a button on an intercom next to her door. "Mom, mom" she called. She looked back and saw me looking amazed. "I am awfully far up here and sometimes I don't want to go downstairs to look for someone." Well, that made sense.

"Yes, Lynn. Is Stephanie ok?" Patricia responded over the intercom.

"She's fine. Where is Paul?"

"He just left in his Volvo. When we asked him where he was going, he wouldn't answer!"

I wanted to cry. This was my entire fault.

"Thanks." Lynn answered. "Please don't cry, Steph! I will get a hold of him. I promise. And when I do, he may die."

"What if he commits suicide? Or has a wreck? Or runs away?" I worried.

"I promise you, Steph. I will find him."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Steph's POV:

Hours passed. My head still hurt. Lynn tried everything she could to find Paul. And there was no sign of him. It was 2:53 in the morning now.

"Steph, go to bed," Lynn said groggily. "You need rest."

"No. I don't. You need to rest too." I argued back.

"Oh shut it and go to sleep," she said. I nodded and closed my eyes.

**The Next Morning/Afternoon**

"Lynn! Steph! Get up!" someone yelled. My eyes fluttered open. The voice belonged to Peter. I rolled over to see Lynn lying in the floor…still asleep.

"Is Paul home? Has he called?" I blurted out.

"No. We haven't heard anything from him. Lynn, wake up!" Peter said. He threw a pillow at Lynn on the floor. She suddenly sat up.

"Wha-what? Paul?" she stuttered.

"Speaking of the devil, did you try his cell phone last night?" Peter said.

"Yeah. Like twenty million times too. He's ignoring my texts too!"

I groaned. Why did I have to tell him? I should have just said I slipped walking over to go use the bathroom.

"Come on, dad says you can start moving around the house again," Peter said. He helped me up off of the couch. I rubbed the back of my sore head; I was greeted with a large bump. I groaned again. "Mom made Rebecca, Shawn, and I make brunch today. She's too shaken up about Paul running away."

"Can I be alone for a few minutes?" I asked. Lynn and Peter nodded and left the room. I made sure the door was closed. I walked over to the side of Lynn's huge bed and knelt down before it. I hadn't done this since I was a small child. But now was the time I wanted help the most…

I put my hands together and closed my eyes. "Jesus Christ, God, Mom, Dad, Grammy, anyone who wants to answer this. Please bring Paul back home safely. Why did I have to send him away? Why? I didn't mean anything by it! I feel so alone down here. Just please… help me this time. I want him in my life. I want him to be my first boyfriend! Please lead Paul home, for me."

I climbed up on top of the bed and closed my eyes again. This time… I drift off into a slow, dark sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Steph's POV:

I was woken up again by hands running through my hair. My eyes fluttered open slightly, just hoping, that when I turn around, I will come face to face with Paul once more.

Although, when my eyes opened fully, the hopeful feeling was lost. I looked around Lynn's room to find that I was alone. Still alone. Lynn's alarm clock read 5:32 AM. It was too early. Or too late.

I wondered where Lynn was. Eh, who cares? I don't want to see anyone unless their name is Paul Levesque.

I needed to pee. But I was half way scared to go back into the bathroom again… maybe I would less guilty if I fell again and never woke up. I went back into the bathroom anyway, just because I would have to wet the bed if I didn't. Lynn would be mad at me then.

I slowly walked in and looked around at my surroundings. Above the toilet was a shelf with pictures on it… one was of the entire Levesque family. Another was of Lynn and Paul by themselves. I used the restroom and cleaned up. I took one last glance at the picture of Lynn and Paul. Tears began to fall down my face. He's gone and it's my entire fault! My knees gave out from under me. I cried.

I felt warm arms wrap around me. The arms were too big to be Lynn's and too small to be Shawn's. I looked up.

To my surprise, I was looking into Paul's concerned eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I was glad that he was back, but I was so angry at him for this! He just acts like it's no big deal! "What is wrong? You must be insane. You've been gone for two days without talking to anybody. We've all been worried sick about you! And all you have to say is 'what's wrong?' You owe everyone in this family an apology! Especially me! I didn't do a damn thing and you just leave! I honestly told you the truth! I did!" I ranted.

"I'm sorry, Steph. I shouldn't have run off. I told you earlier that night that I was scared! I am still scared!" he apologized.

"And I told you that I wasn't going to hurt you! Why can't you believe me?" I begged. Tears were still running down my face. I was shaking.

"Sometimes it's easier said than done! Do you know why I don't believe you? It's because I hear that from lots of guys that have had their hearts stomped on. My friends tell me about this. Joanie told me that she would never leave my side!"

He wiped away my tears. He put both of his hands on the sides of my face and said calmly, "Stephanie, while I was gone, I thought. I needed time to think by myself. And I decided that I am ready to be in a relationship. Not just in any relationship. I want to be your boyfriend. I won't hurt you anymore."

I cried more. And not because I was sad. It was because I was finally happy. My prayer was answered.

**The Next Morning**

I woke up the next morning in Lynn's room. I couldn't remember much. However, I was pleased to wake up on top of Paul. He had his arms wrapped around me while he was sleeping.

Patricia walked into the room and smiled. She whispered "When did he come back?"

"It was about 5:45ish in the morning. He found me in the bathroom, crying. I don't think he'll be leaving again," I responded quietly. She smiled and left the room.

I stared at Paul's beautiful face. How could he be so perfect and god like? He was wearing a Grey t-shirt and jeans. I could feel abs under the shirt. Ohhhhh… I am so lucky.

I heard footsteps coming near the room again. Lynn popped in the room with a smile on her face. "Hey, Steph!" she greeted softly.

"Hi. Where were you last night?"

"I had left you alone up here when I found you asleep. I kept on trying Paul's cell phone during the night, and finally he answered. I talked him into coming back. I knew you and him would have wanted to be alone. So, I did," she explained.

"Where'd you sleep last night?" I asked.

"Paul's room. I knew then that he would have to come and stay up here no matter what! HAHA!" she said. I giggled.

"Thank you for bringing him back to me, Lynn," I thanked. She smiled.

"No problemo. I wanted my brother back and I wanted my best friend back as well," she said. I gave her a confused look. "When he was gone, you were so lifeless. You didn't want to do anything but sleep. Peter talked about it all with me which made me feel better... I knew you needed Paul to be happy just like I needed Peter to be happy. So I got Paul back. And you are welcome!"

I smiled.

Thank God for Lynn. Paul began to stir beneath me. Lynn smiled and left the room. I kissed him softly on the lips. He began to return the favor and woke up. I pulled back.

I could finally look into his beautiful brown eyes. I missed those.

"Will you wake me up every day like that?" he asked and smiled that crooked smile I loved.

"Anything that will make you never leave again," I answered.

He smiled. "I will never leave your side."

"How do I know you won't leave me like Joanie did to you?" I asked curiously.

"Do I look like a Joanie to you? Now that I look back on her, she was a whore anyway. People told me while we dated that I needed to be careful with her because she was the town bicycle! Everyone rode her!" he admitted.

I started laughing hard and accidentally rolled off of Paul's chest and into the floor! Oops! Then he started laughing equally as hard and rolled on top of me. I squealed.

I began to feel soft kisses down my neck. He is s-so… soo… oh. He rubbed the small of my back while kissing me. Sweet pleasure.

"WOAH!"

Paul looked up. It was Peter who was now covering his eyes with an evil grin on his face.

"You move fast now, don't ya, Paulie?" he asked sarcastically. Oh he would DIE later! "Once you all are done up here… just wanted to say that lunch is ready." Then he left.

We began kissing again until I heard a large growl from my stomach. Paul heard it too.

"I think it's time for lunch. When was the last time you ate?" Paul asked playfully.

"Baskin Robbins."

He looked worried now. Paul said playfully, "I don't think you're healthy enough to get down there yourself. Let me help."

Oh no. I closed my eyes in fear.

I felt strong arms lift me off the ground. My eyes opened. I kissed Paul hard on the lips.

We went downstairs and ate lunch together as a couple for the first time. I would definitely get used to this.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Paul's POV:

All during lunch, we held hands. I never had felt this way about anyone. I loved to see her laugh, smile, EAT! Anything she did was angelic to me. Oh, how I loved her!

When Steph and I cleaned up from lunch, I realized she was still wearing her pajamas that made her look amazing. The shorts were tiny with small moons on it. The shirt was a tiny tank top that barely covered anything up. It matched the shorts design. Steph's legs looked long. And her chest….oh…. her chest… I began thinking…

"Earth to Paul… Shawn and Rebecca want to go see a movie. Do you and Stephanie want to come?" Lynn asked, startling me from my naughty thoughts about what I'd do to Stephanie if we were alone.

I nodded. "Sure, sure…" Steph smiled.

This technically would be our second date.

Weeks passed of perfect bliss. Stephanie and I got compliments from wherever we went. Some of my personal favorites came from little old ladies. 'Oh my…what a cute couple you are'… 'how long have you two been married?' Things like that. I liked hearing that.

I wanted to get Steph something magnificent. She has changed my outlook on everything. Today, I told Steph that I was going out to town and that she was to stay home. She gave me a look of confusion but went on with life.

While on my way out, Rebecca stopped me. "What are you planning, Paul?" she asked suspiciously.

"I'm going to New York to get Stephanie a present. There's more of a choice there," I explained.

She gave me a harsh look. "That better be what you're doing. Be sure to be back for Lynn's birthday dinner tonight." I nodded and left.

I began in the CD store at the mall. I knew Steph loved rock and roll most.

"Well, hello, Paul," a too familiar voice called out. It was a voice I didn't want to hear for a long time.

I slowly turned around to find my ex-girlfriend, Joanie, standing behind me. She looked almost the same other than she was dressed more whorish.

"Hey sweets," she said. "Oh, you won't talk to me anymore? Let's go have a coffee at Starbucks across the hall. We need to talk."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Paul's POV:

So, here I was…sitting in Starbucks with my bitch of an ex-girlfriend…. Drinking coffee.

"So, Pauly…"

"Please do not call me that. Better yet, please don't talk to me at all," I answered. I shouldn't have left the store. I shouldn't have. Why did I come here?

"Oh? Feisty are we? Well… I miss you. I miss everything about you. I made such a dumb mistake breaking up with you," she tried.

"And I made a dumb mistake dating you. Thank you. Goodbye," I began to leave.

"No, stay and talk to me Pauly. I hear your dating little orphan Bethany…"

"Stephanie."

"Whatever. Anyways….how long have you two been dating?" she asked.

"1 month" I told her, I sat back down across from her.

As soon as I sat down, I felt a foot rubbing my crotch. Oh… it felt nice… but…. I'm taken! I'm taken and I'm happily taken!

"I swear, I will call the cops and report you for sexual harassment if you don't stop," I ordered.

The foot gradually left my private area.

"I'm leaving," I stated and walked away.

I walked past Victoria's Secret and was SO tempted to buy a bra or lingerie for Steph. However, I didn't know what size she was or if that was her style! So, I continued on.

I walked into Hot Topic. I know Steph would love this store. I wonder if she's ever been in here before….

I looked through some of the T-Shirts and pins…then I headed to the back of the store where the toys and posters were. In the back corner was Joanie once more…

"Oh… how would this look on me?" she asked in her most seductive voice. She put a black and red polka dot bra over her small shirt. Hmmm… what kind of a comeback could I come up with here?

"Thanks. Steph needed a new bra. After our last get together… she had lost one outfit completely," I smiled.

Her ego has truly been rubbed now, I can tell. She dropped the bra onto the ground and stared at me like a spoiled child.

"What do you mean your last get together?" Joanie snarled.

"Well… the last time we made… love… her clothes KIND of got ripped off of her body. Shredded off is more like it…"

I won the battle. She stomped out of the store… I picked up the bra she dropped and hung it back up. I looked through all the different sizes and decided on the one that looked most like Stephanie: 36 I called Alice and made sure of the sizes. Surprisingly enough, I had gotten them all correct.

I was walking back towards the place I entered from… when I passed Bath and Body Works. Ugh. Steph's loves that store… but I'm not sure if I can brace myself to going in there.

Do it for Stephanie, I thought.

I took a deep breath in and ran into the store filled with so many different, strong scents. I decided to do something quick. I ran in and got Steph a 100 gift card for the store. I think that will suit her enough.

I sprinted back out. Across the walkway was a jewelry store… would she like a necklace or something? I don't want to give her any kind of ring. Yet.

I slowly walked in and looked at the different pieces. There was a simple locket that had a diamond heart in the center. It was 200. That's pretty cheap compared to others in the store. I bought it and left once more. I made it to the door I entered from finally. Next to it was one of the cheap games with the claw that you get a stuffed animal from. I have always been fantastic at these. I put the 50 cents in and won Stephanie a big fluffy stuffed bear. I think I have my gifts done with now. And for some reason, I was nervous about giving them to her.

On my way to the Hummer, I just remembered today was Lynn's birthday! I didn't want to go into the mall again. I decided to give the Fall Out Boy CD to Lynn for her birthday. While everything else would go to Steph.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Steph's POV:

It was Lynn's birthday dinner tonight and I was so excited! Since Paul was out and about today and Peter and Shawn were very concentrated on the new _Halo_ game… Becca, Lynn, and I decided to have a chick flick fest during the day. We decided we would find all the chocolate in the house that we could eat and we would watch the movies in our pajamas.

Lynn informed Rebecca and me that she was to choose the movies, Rebecca was to find all snacks and drinks, and I was supposed to choose the pajamas each of us would wear. Lynn sent us off to work.

Rebecca had her own guest room at the Levesque's house with Shawn. She was here a lot more than I ever had been. I walked in and went to the dresser. I looked through all kinds of drawers until I finally found her pajama drawer. There was a plethora of pajamas… finally I found a pair that wasn't too sexy or too girly. In fact, they were very cute. The shirt was Barbie colored pink with green pinstripes going down it. The matching flannel shorts hit right at the knee. The sleeves on the shirt were rolled and creased ever so slightly. The shorts were the same way. These were very Rebecca… I grabbed these and a pair of light pink socks to go with them.

Then, I headed up to Lynn's room. Shawn and Paul had brought up a large dresser for my clothes. I looked through my pajama drawer and picked out my favorite pair of pajamas. They were light blue. The top was a tank that had half a large storm cloud that came in from the side. There was a bright lightning bolt popping out of the cloud. The shorts had small lightning bolts all over them. I grabbed them and went over to Lynn's dresser to look for a pair. I knew Lynn's favorite pair when I saw them. They were the same style as mine except it had Tinkerbell on the shirt and 'pixie dust' on the shorts. Lynn has always been like a little fairy.

I got all of the pajamas I had picked and brought them down the stairs. Lynn was waiting at the door. "We're having our chick flick fest in the guest house by the pool," she announced.

"There's a guest HOUSE?" I asked astonished.

"Yeah. Didn't Paul ever tell you that?" she responded. I shook my head no and followed her. She brought me around the path to the pool. Behind the pool was a small looking house. But it was beautiful none the less. She opened the door into a beautiful area.

When you opened the front door, you were walking onto a light brown colored hard wood floor. To the left was a staircase that went up into a loft over the rest of the guest house. I walked down a few more steps and turned to my right. Down one step was the living room. There was a large flat screen TV with a pile of DVDs that Lynn must have picked out. There were two couches and an EZ-Boy that surrounded the TV.

"Where's Rebecca?" I asked. Lynn took my hand and led me back to the kitchen. This kitchen would be heaven to a chef. Everything was stainless steel and humongous! The room was a navy blue which looked great with the silver refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, sink, and oven. There was a small bar in the back corner of the room. Rebecca was standing in front of a small black microwave heating up popcorn.

"Hey, Steph. It's about time," she said. "Which pair did you pick out for me?" I handed her the pink pair of pajamas. She smiled and thanked me. Lynn went back off to the living room.

"Here's your PJ's, Lynn," I said. She turned around and looked at me. She was on her cell phone.

"Yeah. 36C. Bye, Paul," she said and hung up the phone. My heart fluttered when I heard his name. She had a sly grin on her face. I handed her the PJ's. She chuckled.

"What's he up to, now?" I asked sarcastically.

"You'll find out when he's back home. He said he's almost done," she responded.

We all got dressed into our pajamas. Lynn dared Rebecca and me to do something funky to our hair. I went into the loft's bathroom and messily put my hair into a ponytail on the top of my head.

I went into the living room again and sat and talked to Lynn. Rebecca walked in with her hair in pigtails. She looked like a little kid again. Lynn walked down and turned on the electric fireplace.

"Why are you doing that, stupid? It's summer," Rebecca commented.

"It sets… the mood," Lynn said. We all started laughing. Lynn finally made it over to the big pile of movies she had picked out.

"Let's decide which one we'll want to watch first…. I have _Moulin Rouge_ …" she began. Her cell phone's ringing interrupted her. It was Paul again. "WHHHHAT?" she answered sounding very aggravated. Her facial changed from happy to concerned very quickly.

"Did you do something about her?" she asked him through the phone. My heart felt like it stopped in my chest. Rebecca and I were silent. All you could hear was Lynn murmuring in her cell phone. "Okay…see you in a few… bye Paul." She hung up. She was silent as well.

I wanted to cry. This silence could not be good.

"Is everything ok?" Rebecca cracked out.

"I'm just kind of concerned right now. I know I shouldn't be because I know Paul is madly in love with Steph… but I am kind of scared anyway," Lynn peeped out.

I began to cry. I couldn't hold it back anymore. I just began to cry. Rebecca and Lynn ran over to my side and started to rub my back.

"I don't even know what he just told you… but…. I just cannot bear the thought of losing him! I don't want to be alone," I cried out.

"No, listen Steph; let me tell you what happened… today, Paul ran into his old girlfriend, Joanie. She was really bugging him. He kept telling her that he was dating you… but what she did to him really bothered him. He felt as if he cheated on you when he didn't. I'm concerned because I know how hurt Paul was by her. He was suicidal. I'm scared that since he's run into her again… he'll get back down into that slump he was in. I don't want to see him like that ever again," she explained.

"I'll need to talk to him when he gets home, won't I?" I asked. She nodded.

"Just to make sure you all are ok. He feels guilty and you feel worried." Both of them hugged me and went on.

Why was I so freaked out about this? I trust Paul with all my heart. I am serious… I just don't want to be alone anymore. After having Paul in my life, I didn't want to be single anymore.

"Steph! Stephanie!" Lynn called. "Pay attention; choose with me and Rebecca… what should we watch first? _Moulin Rouge, Down With Love, Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd_ …"

"When did _Sweeney Todd_ become a chick flick?" Rebecca asked.

"When Johnny Depp was cast in a musical," Lynn answered. We all giggled.

"CONTINUING ON… _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland_, one of my personal favorites, of course," Lynn said.

"Let's watch _Alice_," I called out. Rebecca agreed.

"Fine with me," Lynn responded and stuck it in.

The movie began. It wasn't about 30 minutes later when the door opened. I heard shopping bags rustle around in the hallway. Paul's beautiful body appeared around the corner.

He smiled when he saw me look at him.

"What are you all doing?" he asked.

"Having a movie day," Rebecca replied.

"Can I watch?" Paul said. We all nodded. I stood up from in front of the TV and went back to Paul. He had just sat down on the couch. I crawled into his lap. He smelt amazing.

He wrapped his arms around my body and held me close. This erased all negative thoughts from my mind. I nestled my head in his neck.

"Are you ok?" he whispered. I nodded.

"I feel so much better having you here."

"Lynn, Rebecca, me and Steph are going to go talk," Paul announced. They didn't even turn around. They just both nodded but kept their eyes on the screen.

He led me to a gazebo down in the shade next to the woods. There was a swing in the center.

"I'm figuring Lynn told you about my encounter with Joanie today," he began. I nodded. He wasn't going to break up with me, was he? I began to shake. I think he can read my mind… because as soon as I began shaking. He said "I'm not going to break up with you Stephanie. Trust me; I never want to be away from you. That's why I was freaked out about my encounter with Joanie. She is such a whore, if that makes you feel any better. Do you know what she did today? I STUPIDELY went into Starbucks with her…. I thought that I could set her straight then. I was sitting down when she started to rub her foot on my crotch! I finally just left. I don't like her. But I feel as if I cheated on you, when I didn't!" he began to panic. He was pacing the gazebo and looked as if he was about to cry. I began to calm down. Paul was truly scared!

"Paul," I said calmly. He looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Please don't leave me," he cried.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" I asked.

"Yes. Feelings of hatred," he responded.

"Are you going to leave me for her?"

"No! Of course not. I have the most terrific girlfriend in the world. I have no reason at all to leave you."

"And I to you. I can tell you don't like her. So, question, how did you get her to go away and leave you alone?" I asked curiously.

"Well… she had found me again in Hot Topic. She was asking me if she looked hot or something… when she tried to model a bra for me… I told her that I needed to get you one from one of our last little all-nighters," he admitted. I turned crimson red.

"And let's just say… I did get you one," he admitted again.

"So, that's why I overheard Lynn say something about 36C," I realized. He smiled that crooked smile that I loved.

"Are we both ok?" I asked. He nodded. He kissed me long on my lips. I guess people would say that it was a makeup kiss...

He took my hand and we returned to the movie fest.

"Can I watch movies with you all?" he wondered.

"You HAVE to wear pajamas though," Lynn ordered. He laughed and headed back to the house to get a pair. I lay back down in front of the TV. Lynn handed me a soda and we continued watching _Alice in Wonderland_.

It was during my favorite scene, the Unbirthday Tea Party, when Paul returned. I turned around and was met with the most beautiful man I have ever seen. There Paul was standing in black flannel lounge pants. And nothing else. I could stare at his sculpted chest all I wanted to!

Lynn turned around and made a face. "We Paul! Why do you have to ruin my birthday with that?" Rebecca never turned around.

"I don't want to see," she peeped out.

I couldn't STOP staring. "What are you talking about, Lynn? He's amazing looking," I said dreamily.

"So, what are we watching ladies?" he asked as he positioned himself on top of me. I began to feel… 'happy'.

"Alice in Wonderland, sicko," Lynn commented. He smirked but stayed on top of me. I became very still.

Oh this was going to be a long movie fest if he was going to torture me so.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Stephanie's POV:

The end of our movie fest was interesting. After _Alice in Wonderland_ , we watched _Sweeney Todd_ and _Phantom of the Opera_ . Paul loved comforting me at the end where I was crying because of the Phantom and Christine.

We put in _Steel Magnolias _next. It's the ultimate chick flick. However, every single one of us fell asleep before we could get to the sad part. Shawn was the one who woke us up. I felt a light kick in my side and heard "get up".

I looked over at Paul first. His eyes slowly opened. He groaned and stretched. I got a good view of all of his muscles again. Oh, this is a fantastic way to awaken. Lynn soon sat up and yawned. Rebecca stood up quick and ran over to Shawn to hug him.

"What time is it?" Lynn asked groggily.

"Mom said that dinner will be ready in about 20 minutes and that you all need to get up," Shawn announced. It was all of our turns to groan now.

"I call the shower first, I'm the birthday girl," Lynn slowly said. She trudged on back to the house.

Everyone else followed Lynn. While walking back to the house, I began to chatter on.

"I can't decide if I should take a shower or not… should I, Paul?" I blabbered.

We were almost past the pool when he stopped me. "You have been talking about taking a shower for the past 5 minutes."

I blushed. "Sorry."

"So, I have decided something," he began. He had a mischievous look on his face.

"Uh oh…" I groaned. Before I knew it… I was on Paul's shoulder and we were running towards the pool. I screamed bloody murder. Soon, I was underwater.

I opened my eyes and found Paul. He was looking at me too. He playfully waved at me. I swam over to him and kissed him. We both began to run out of breath. Paul and I got out of the pool. We were greeted with Shawn and Peter laughing like maniacs. Paul crawled over the side and helped me out of the pool. He held onto me for a little.

"I love this sight," he whispered in my ear. His voice made me shiver. I looked down realizing that my light blue tank top is very thin. He was getting a great view of my hot pink bra underneath. I blushed again and hid my face in his neck. "Don't be embarrassed…honestly, that was a compliment!" He rubbed my back.

"That was GREAT, Paul!" Peter complimented, finally catching his breath. Shawn was still laughing.

We began to all stand up. Paul tried to hold my hand, but I crossed my arms across my chest.

One second… Paul was standing beside me. In a blink of an eye, he had slipped into the pool. I figured he was just messing around…Shawn and Peter turned around. My stomach quivered when I realized Paul wasn't coming to the top of the water.

On instinct, I jumped into the deep water after my love. I prayed that I wasn't too late. My eyes opened under the water and I found Paul. I swam over to him and slid my arms under his body. I pulled him above water. Shawn and Peter jumped in to come and help me. Paul was unconscious.

Shawn, Peter, and I moved him over and onto the concrete next to the pool. He wasn't breathing either. I looked at Shawn. He looked as if he was about to cry. Everyone else ran out of the house. Patricia was carrying her doctor bag.

I was now so thankful for all the training I had at the local pool. I went through all the procedures. Paul's breathing and pulse became better. His eyes opened slowly.

"Stepha…" he moaned then went unconscious once more. Patricia ran to his side. She looked scared to death. She looked all over Paul's head. I noticed blood on Patricia's hands. My stomach quivered. I don't love the sight of blood.

"Oh, Paul, how did you do this," Patricia talked to herself. She got a tube of medicine from his bag. A squirt of gel came from the tube; then she rubbed Paul's head. Then, she retrieved a roll of bandages. She carefully wrapped it around Paul's head. Paul groaned.

"What's the matter, Patricia? What'd he do?" Paul Sr. asked frightened.

"He had slipped into the pool," I started.

"And he must have hit his head while going in… which knocked him out," Patricia finished for me.

"Paul, help me bring him in," Patricia demanded. They brought Paul into the house and laid him on his bed. I had never been in Paul's before. It was so messy.

"Steph, I believe I can trust you enough to stay up here and watch Paul. If he starts to do something you don't think is right, holler for me," Patricia explained to me. I nodded.

"What about my dinner mom?" Lynn whined. I realized I would have to skip Lynn's birthday dinner.

"Lynn, Steph is doing something for your brother," Patricia said.

"I'm so sorry, Lynn. I promise that as soon as Paul is better… you and I will go shopping. And I will do whatever you want me to do." She smiled and nodded.

"Be sure and play nurse well," Rebecca teased. Shawn remained silent. The whole family left. The only people left were me and the unconscious Paul.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Steph's POV:

Playing nurse was quite boring. But I liked being near Paul. His bed wasn't very large, but I didn't care. I crawled in next to him and positioned Paul's arm around me. Even after almost drowning, he smelled amazing.

I really need to change, I thought. But if Paul woke up, I wanted to be here.

Someone knocked on the door. I walked over and opened it. It was Lynn. She was in a nice black, silk shirt and jeans. She handed me a pair of clothes.

"Knowing you—you'll need these because you won't leave the room," she said. I smiled.

"Thanks. And you're right. If he woke up, I want to be the first thing he sees," I responded. "I'm sorry I can't come to your dinner tonight."

"It's fine. In fact, I'm glad you are up here. My brother needs someone in his life. And I'm delighted that he has someone now," she smiled. We hugged each other. "Now go change. You're soaking wet and I know you must be getting cold." I nodded. "I'll bring some dinner up for you." Then, Lynn left. I changed clothes in Paul's bathroom

Paul's eyes were open! And he was stretching! "Hi, beautiful," he greeted. Well, of course, PAUL would act as if nothing just happened because he's amazing. I knew when I started to see him raise his head off the pillow that he would begin to realize that he almost just got killed. And I was right.

"Oooooogh," he groaned in pain. I ran over to his side.

"Are you okay?" I wondered with concern. He nodded and put his head back onto the pillow.

"Come here," he said and pulled me over on top of him without sitting up. His skin felt great. I laid down on top of his chest.

Lynn had put me in another pair of pajamas that were as little as my favorites. The only difference here was that there were pigs on the shorts and tank instead of lightning bolts.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," I said with my face buried in his chest. He was still in his pajamas from the movie fest. He smiled and rubbed my back. It felt so good.

"I had a dream about you while I was out," he began. I could hear his heartbeat. I looked at him with interest. He smiled. "We were walking, hand in hand, on the beach. It was so sunny and warm." I smiled as well. It sounded like such a lovely dream… I want his dream to come true someday.

"How are you feeling?" I changed the subject.

"Well, my head hurts really badly. And I'm confused. Could you tell me exactly what happened?" Paul asked.

"You slipped on water that had been next to the pool. When you fell in, you somehow hit your head and went under. I jumped in and got you on top of the water. Shawn helped me get you out of the water. That's basically all that happened." I told.

We both were silent for a few minutes. I don't know about him, but I was just happy to have him here with me.

"You need to change out of these pants. They're wet from when you pushed me in the pool and when you fell in the pool," I said. "I'm not changing your pants for you. See if you can stand up." I got up from off top of him and sat beside him on the bed.

He nodded and sat up slowly. I looked at him. He looked as if he was about to get ill. He laid back down with a hurt look.

"I can't even sit up! I just felt so dizzy," he cried out. "I feel like a child, Steph!"

I lightly rubbed his chest and shushed him. "Its okay, paul. This isn't the end of the world. You'll be back and better than ever in a week or so."

"steph… I have a question. Could I be alone until I get better? I'm not trying to sound mean or like I don't want you here, trust me; I don't ever want you to leave my side. But I am pathetic right now. I am embarrassed to have you see me this way," he said. I stood up and walked across the room.

"I can understand why you're thinking that… but I'm not leaving you alone. I'm not even sure why you suggested it. paul, I hope this doesn't freak you out, but I'm planning on being with you the rest of my life. This is a part of you. Anyway, I've been assigned to be your nurse," I said more harshly than I intended. He looked shocked at my reaction.

"Fine. But as soon as I get better, I swear, I will try my best to never be this pathetic again." He knew I won.

"You can't help it, Paul. And heck, I kind of like you being somewhat pathetic. I want to be able to take care of you," I responded and smiled. He smirked back at me. "Now, you need to get out of those pants or you could catch a cold or whatever. I just know they can't be that comfortable."

"Yeah. I'm a little chilly."

I didn't want to call Shawn in here to help him and make sure he was okay because Paul would be completely embarrassed. But then, I didn't want to undress him! That could lead to something else, and I wasn't ready for THAT. Yet.

"Paul…. Okay…" I said nervously.

"Yes?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I know you need to change. But I don't think it's acceptable for me to undress you or be in the same room as you," I explained quietly.

To my surprise, he smiled. "It's fine. I think I'll be able to take my pants off lying down. I've done it before on a first day of school. Or on any morning I don't want to get up. However, maybe you should sit near the bathroom door and if I need anything, I'll call for you. Does that sound fine?" he compromised.

I nodded. "Will you need me to get your pants…and well… umm?"

"Underwear? Yes. I will need you to get those for me," he told me bluntly. This was going to be so awkward. I slowly walked to his large dresser. He sensed I was feeling uncomfortable and said "The boxers are in the third drawer from the top and the pajama pants are in the bottom drawer."

Oh….I've never really seen a man's boxers before. I mean, I wasn't old enough to do laundry before my dad died and I've never had a boyfriend before. I was trying hard to not stare at the boxers in this drawer…so I flipped through some of them. A few were silk. Some had cartoon characters on them. Oh my goodness, that's so hot. I decided to choose a pair that I would LOVE to see him in. It was just a pair of plain, silk, black boxers. I closed that drawer and opened the one below it. I quickly grabbed a pair and closed the door.

I handed him the boxers and started to head to the bathroom. "Goodness, Steph. You seemed to hang around in the boxer drawer longer than I expected," he said under his breath. I blushed and ran back into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, I heard "It's fine to come out now."

He was lying on the bed again. His eyes were closed. He was in the pants I had laid out for him. The closer I got to him; I realized he was in a sweat. "You have no idea how hard that was for me."

I felt his forehead. It wasn't hot, like I expected it. He was in a cold sweat.

"Paul, are you okay?" I wondered.

"I am not feeling too well right now," he admitted.

"I'll be right back," I said. He kept his eyes closed.

I went downstairs to the kitchen. The family was around the dining table eating. They were all laughing and talking. Once they saw me, they became quiet and looked at me.

"Is everything alright?" Patricia asked. Her face was white.

"There is nothing to worry about. When Paul sits up, he gets very dizzy and sick feeling," I began.

"That's nothing strange," She commented.

"Right. I had figured that staying in those wet pajamas couldn't be comfortable for him. I didn't think it would be okay for me to undress him out of those and wet boxers… so I made him do it himself. I didn't want to interrupt your dinner. He got out of the clothes and changed. But he's not feeling too well right now. In fact, he's in a cold sweat. I wanted to get a dry cloth or something. I also wondered if using a damp towel would be better," I explained.

"If he's in a cold sweat, I believe using just a dry washcloth will be fine," Patricia assured.

Rebecca handed me a washcloth. "Thanks," I said and left the room.

When I returned to Paul's bedroom, I realized he was asleep. He was sweating. I pushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. He looked like an angel who had fallen from the heavens. Paul began to move around a lot in his sleep. He cried "Stephanie, Steph!" I realized he was having a nightmare. But why was it aabout me?

I shook his shoulder lightly and called his name. "Paul, Paul, wake up, please," I pleaded.

His eyes flew open and looked around. He was panting. I looked at him. His face was whiter than usual. He quickly sat up and threw his arms around me. I knew his actions would catch up to him. I held him in my arms. He began to lean on me.

"You know, you shouldn't sit up. Let alone sit up really fast," I commented as I continued to hold him.

"And you, should never leave my side again," he responded from my neck.

"And why is that?"

"Because I want to know that you're always here. I just had a _really _bad dream. Just please never leave me," he begged.

"I'm not planning on it anytime, soon…" I assured him. He looked at me, while I still held him.

"I love you," he said. My chin dropped. That was not what I expected to hear. What should I say back? 'I love you too, stupid!' I thought. He looked at me and smiled.

"I don't know if you love me b…" he began.

I interrupted, "Of course, I love you! Of course! I was just really surprised. I'm sorry I didn't respond at first… but…. I haven't been told that I've been loved since I was really little. I'm not used to it."

"Get used to it then."

Before I could respond, Paul kissed me like the first time we kissed.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Steph's POV:

After that first day, I loved playing nurse. Paul became better every day. Patricia told Paul that he should be fine after a day…however, I think Paul enjoyed the special treatment. 4 days after his fall, he still was lying in bed trying to look pathetic. He had the bandages taken off and everything. He was fine. But I didn't mind.

One morning, I woke upon his chest when I remembered going to sleep on his couch across the room. His eyes fluttered open and a mischievous grin fell onto his face. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," he grinned. "You had been looking so beautiful on the couch that I _had _to go over and bring you back over to me."

I winked at him. "Well, if you want me to, I can just sleep over here from now on."

"That would be a-ok with me," he responded with a smile.

Someone knocked on paul's door then opened it. It was Paul Sr. "I can't believe you're letting him get away with this," he commented. He didn't seem to notice that I was lying on top of his son in his bedroom. Maybe he did notice; he just didn't mind.

"I don't care. I like being able to take care of him," I responded. Paul smiled.

"Hey Steph, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Paul Sr. asked. I gave a confused look but nodded anyway. I followed him outside into the hallway and closed the door behind me. My stomach twisted and turned inside of me. Did he want me to break up with Paul? Or what if he gives me the sex talk?

"You're not in trouble," he assured me as if he was reading my mind. I smiled. "I just wanted to thank you privately for dating my son."

"Why?" I asked.

"Paul has always been kind of… lonely. He denies it. But I can tell. His eyes sparkle whenever you're around. He hasn't had that look since he was very small. I just want to thank you for making him happy. Patricia and I are so grateful, if you ever need anything or want to talk, know that we are here for you," he told. I wanted to cry. He is so kind to me, like a father. He gave me a big hug.

"Now, get back in there before Paul starts freaking out," Paul Sr. laughed. He opened the door for me. I entered the room while he closed the door behind me.

Paul looked up from a book he was reading…his btown eyes gleamed with love. I was the luckiest girl in the world.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about," I replied. I took my place back on his chest once more. He held his book in one hand and rubbed my back with the other. He continued reading for a few minutes. I closed my eyes and began to drift off. I was woken up by a book crashing on the other side of the room. My eyes flew open and looked up, alarmed.

He looked at me.

"It's bugging me, Steph! What did he say to you?" he asked. His eyes were desperate.

"Do you _need _to know?" I responded playfully.

"Please, Stephanie. It's bothering me," he begged.

"Fine, he told me if I ever needed anything, to tell him." He apparently saw right through that.

"That's not all of it. It wouldn't take 5 minutes to tell you that," he argued.

"Actually, he thanked me for being with you. He said I made you happy. But he did tell me that if I need anything, that he was there for me," I admitted. He smiled.

"Did you need him to tell you that? I thought you already knew that I was the happiest man alive since you came into my life," he said. He was smiling the crooked grin that made me dizzy.

"I love you, Paul Levesque," I stated. He pulled me up higher on his chest and held me as tight as he could without hurting me.

"I'm never ever letting you go. I hope that doesn't scare you off or anything, but you are my life now. I am addicted to you," he said with his face buried into my neck. We rolled over so that he was on top of me. His face still hid in my hair and my neck.

"You could never scare me, Paul. I want you to be in my life for as long as I live. Mostly, I'm afraid you'll realize how better you are than me. I possibly can't deserve you," I said quietly.

Paul slowly raised his head from my neck with a shocked look on his face. "Don't you _ever _say that again," he snarled. "We both deserve each other. We've been alone all of these years and we need each other. I _never _want to hear that you don't deserve me again. We are perfect for each other." He stared at me with sad eyes. Apparently my words had struck him wrong.

I nodded. He finally replaced his head in my neck. After a few minutes, I began to hear his breathing slow down and become even. He was drifting off. I ran my fingers through his blonde hair. He was an angel sent down from the heavens, just for me. I hope everyday was like this morning from now on…


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Paul's POV:

I will always remember today perfectly. I remember Steph's beautiful voice the most… I also remember being terrified thinking I was moving too fast. Basically, I told her we were going to get married one day! What if she didn't want to marry me? I can't lose her. I need her.

However, Stephanie acted perfectly fine for the rest of the day. I had fallen asleep once again earlier in the morning...

"Paul, Paulie," someone coaxed. I opened my eyes. I woke up and stared into Steph's beautiful blue eyes.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I'm bored. Let's go do something, you are fine!" she begged. I couldn't resist.

"Fine, fine… could I shower first?" She nodded. I sat up and stretched. It was nice to be able to sit up. I got my clothes and entered the bathroom. After undressing and turning the shower on, I climbed in. The warm water felt good on my body. I quickly washed then got out. I dried off and got back into a new pair of clothes. I chose a dark blue pinstriped shirt that buttoned up, and a pair of black jeans. I entered my room once more, hoping to find Steph in there.

To my discontent, the room was empty.

I found her walking down from Lynn's room when I went into the hallway. How could she wow me every time I saw her? She was wearing a white tank top that had different colored stars on it; her shorts were at above mid-thigh. She had put her hair into a ponytail and put a little eye makeup on.

"Hi, beautiful," I greeted. She blushed.

"I could never compare to your beauty," she responded with a smile. I took her hand and squeezed it. "I think I need a kiss," Steph joked. I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

We walked downstairs, hand in hand. Peter and Shawn were playing Guitar Hero in the living room.

Without looking away from the screen, Shawn said "Hey, Paulie. Did you decide to walk again?"

I rolled my eyes. Stephanie commented, "He would have continued to lie in there, but I wanted to do something new today."

"What exactly are we doing today?" I wondered.

"I thought we could go see a movie together and go get lunch afterward. This new scary movie was showing," she offered.

"Sounds good to me," I said.

"The next showing is at 11:25…its 10:57 right now. We should go," she responded and pulled me out the door. "Will you drive?" she asked. I nodded.

We got into the Hummer and headed out. About 15 minutes later, we arrived at the theater. I began heading towards the theater when I felt a hand grab mine. Steph looked at me with a smile on her face.

"You know, your eyes are the most beautiful color I have ever seen," she complimented. I couldn't help myself. I dipped her and gave her a big kiss. She giggled when I sat her back up.

"I love you, baby." I purred in her ear. She shivered. Slowly taking my hand, she and I walked into the lobby and bought our tickets and food.

Once we were settled in our seats (in the back row, of course), the movie began. I normally don't like horror films, especially the extra bloody ones; which is exactly what this was. I didn't think Stephanie liked these sorts of things. At one point, one man had his arms sawed off by this masked killer, Steph grabbed onto my arm. Then, she did the _cutest _thing. She hid her face in my arm! I wish she would do that a lot.

"Can we leave?" she asked. Her eyes were frightened. Oh, how I wanted to hold her.

"Absolutely," I responded quickly. I wasn't afraid of the movie, it was just so stupid! Masked, mad killers almost _never _exist in regular life

"I have an idea… I know a perfect place where we can eat privately. If we make a quick run in Wal-Mart, we could have a picnic. It's a nice day out," I offered.

She smiled. My heart smiled too; I'm glad she was feeling better.

"That sounds fantastic. Since you and your whole family has been so kind to me, can I buy?" she asked.

I nodded. I had paid for the movie tickets and it sounded fair enough. I knew she just wanted to do something nice; she is such a good person.

We drove out of the movie theater parking lot and headed towards the nearest Wal-Mart.

**Sorry I haven't been updating much of anything lately. I had my birthday this month and had surgery so I wasn't up for anything. I am fully recovered, but I am slowly getting back into writing. This is about the only thing I can update because it was written a long time ago. I want to update How Does This Love Thing Usually Work? I am pretty much done with the story in my head, just need to publish it! Reviews are always helpful **


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Paul's POV:

When I entered Wal-Mart, I didn't expect what would happen inside. I began heading for the food section (believing that is why we were in the store), when Steph grabbed my arm and pulled me the other direction. We passed the clothes, the candy, the crafts….next up was the toys.

"I've always wanted to kind of play in Wal-Mart with someone. I've never had someone to play with!" she admitted while dragging me. I had to laugh at this side of Stephanie I've never seen.

The first aisle she pushed me into was the Barbie doll aisle. She ran straight to the outfits. I picked up one of the pink boxes and looked at the plastic woman inside. She was wearing a mini-skirt, pink go-go boots, and a low cut top.

"You know, Steph, half of these dolls look like prostitutes," I said. I turned across the aisle and looked at the "Bratz" dolls.

"Barbie doesn't even compare when it comes to the Bratz dolls," she responded sarcastically. This doll was wearing a shirt (if you could call it a shirt, it looked more like a bra) that only covered her breasts while her shorts looked like underwear. Her shoes were platform, silver Stilettos.

I gasped. "Parents let their children play with this piece of filth?"

"Yes, you should see some of the children dress like these dolls for Halloween," Steph commented. I smirked at the image in my mind.

"You know what the sad thing is?" I asked.

"What?"

"I think if these dolls had been around when Lynn was young, she would have dressed like them for Halloween," I joked. She laughed. Her laugh always made me feel happy.

"Stephanie?" I said trying to look as pitiful as I possibly could. She looked at me with her beautiful eyes.

"Since we're playing around in the toy section, could we at LEAST please go to the boy's aisle? I feel like I'm turning gay already," I requested. She giggled.

"Fine," she huffed playfully. I snaked my arm around her waist as we walked to the next aisle over. She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed. I am so lucky.

The next aisle was such a nice change from the girly world we just left. Instead of being surrounding by pink Barbie dolls, fluffy fairy costumes, and feather boas, we were cornered by light sabers, swords, racecars, and robots! This is heaven to an 8 year old boy. And a nerdy 21 year old teenager too.

I stood in awe for a few minutes. My concentration was broken by someone hitting me jokingly in the shoulder with a plastic light saber that made a noise when it was swung. Steph's laughter filled my ears.

"I believe that that was an illegal hit," I accused. She raised her eyebrow at me.

"Are you going to fight like a nerd, or be a wimp and just stand there and _want _to play with all of the toys?" she threatened. I made a mental note to bring her to a toy store more often.

I grabbed a version of Captain Jack Sparrow's sword that had been on the shelf beside me. We both posed as if we were a ninja. I hadn't played with a toy since I really was a child.

"Ah, pirate vs. Jedi. This would be a great cartoon," she commented before we began to play fight all over the aisle. Finally, I cornered her on the side shelf in front of the soft Hulk punching gloves. I put my arms next to her head so she wouldn't be able to escape. She began shaking slightly when I looked down at her. I carefully smacked down one of the punching gloves from behind.

Our moment was interrupted by the Hulk's scream. I began to laugh. It was funny. Stephanie's eyes stayed fixed on my face. My laughing stopped when she kissed me with lots of passion.

She pulled away a few minutes later. I was speechless. All I could squeak out was: "Well."

How did this girl have so much power on me?

"Let's go and get that food, my love," she said softly then softly tapped my face with her hand twice.

We trotted to the other side of the super store. First aisle she walked into included things like chips, crackers, cookies, etc… basically, it was good junk food.

"Tell me what you want," she told me.

"You," I responded. She ignored my comment then went on.

"I think I want some cookies and some of those…. Garden salsa Sun chips! Those are so good! Have you ever had them, Paul?" she blabbered. Normally, I don't like girls that talked about stupid things, nonstop….but she made that habit cute. All I could make myself do was nod.

She smiled and grabbed a bag of the potato chips and a package of cookies.

"Now, this is just kind of…well, junk food. What do you want our main thing to be? Wait—let's go to the deli and see our choices," she continued. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the back of the store where the deli was located. It all smelled heavenly, but none of it smelled as good as Steph. "Now, what do you want?" she asked eagerly.

I didn't care honestly. So, I looked and just named off something quick, "Chicken." She grabbed a bag of chicken legs.

The woman behind the counter asked Stephanie kindly, "Ma'am, do you need a basket to carry that in?" Steph nodded graciously and took the plastic basket that was handed over the counter to her. I helped Steph put our items in.

"Do they have a whole supply of those back there?" I whispered into her ear. She smirked and nodded.

"Is that all you want?" Steph checked. I nodded. I didn't care what I had to eat as long as Stephanie was beside me. She smiled at me. "You know you're cute, right?" I felt myself blush.

We began to continue walking. We got our drinks and we found the paper plates and cups. Steph began to move towards the aisle that included blankets, covers, sheets, and pillows inside.

"Why are we going there?" I wondered.

"Because we need something to lay on if we're going on a picnic," she responded. Man, did I feel dumb right then. She found us a cheap quilt to lay upon at the meadow.

"I _think _we're done," she finally said as we headed back towards the check out. Her head spun back and she realized she had no candy. I laughed as she ran and grabbed a box of Starbucks chocolate.

We finally left Wal-Mart with all of our goodies in the bag. Steph seemed surprised when it was beginning to get dark when we walked towards my Hummer. I laughed at her. Together, we put all of the bags in the backseat.

Once we were buckled up and I began driving the car back towards the road, Steph asked curiously, "Since it's beginning to get dark, are we still going to have our picnic?"

"Of course, why wouldn't we? I have a flashlight in my trunk so we'll be okay," I assured her mischievously as I drove the car in the direction of my secret place.

Authors Note: You may have noticed I changed my penname from nicolepiper99 to Steph and Triple H Lover. Please, please, please review. It really means a lot to me, and helps me continue writing. I am going to start updating my other stories soon, and might have a new one. Again, please review. Even if it is just a post more soon, or something along the lines of that. If you have any ideas for fanfics dm me, I could try and do something other than a Steph/HHH one. It would probably have to be with at least one of them because I think I would murder anything else.

This was written a long time ago, with a few mistakes. But if you want me to post it, all you have to do is ask, because I just have to go over it and its up.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Here's another chapter since I got so many reviews!

Chapter 17

Paul's POV:

The drive to the meadow was in silence. I was actually quite surprised too, because Steph seemed so talkative while in Wal-Mart. When I looked over at her, she seemed very deep in thought. I left her to her thoughts.

My own thinking was broken by a simple, nervous question, "Paul, do you think we're moving too fast?" I looked over to her beautiful face. She had the look of fear in her eyes.

"No, personally, I like the pace we're going at. That's just me though. Why do you ask?" I responded.

"I'm just scared. I mean—I don't know how to act in a relationship! Paul, I know I need you in my life. This past month, has been amazing. I'm just scared of losing you," she cried out. She looked frantic.

I was speechless. She was insecure like I was. I realized we were getting near to the trail to the meadow. I pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. Her look of fright changed to confusion. I smirked.

I took her face in my hands and looked her in the eyes, "Stephanie McMahon, I promise you. I have never been happier in my life. If we both agreed that we were moving too fast, we would slow it down together. I love you. Always know that. Now, onto a light tone, do you want me to tell you where we're having our picnic?"

She nodded.

"Fine, we're going to go down a trail and back to a meadow at the end of it. It's one of my favorite places, me and my sister found it when we were little" I explained.

Finally, we arrived to the green field. It was especially beautiful and peaceful right now. There were still a few wildflowers in the field. The green grass looked especially greener under the blue sky. The golden sun was fading softly so a few stars were showing already. Stephanie was in complete and total awe. She was absorbing the feeling of calmness this meadow gave off.

"It's so beautiful, Paul!" she exclaimed. The only difference was that I wasn't paying attention to what was surrounding me.

"I know," I responded while staring deeply at her. She looked back at me and blushed. I smiled at her. I was so lucky.

"Let's get set up," she interrupted with a laugh. "Now, where do you want to sit?" I pointed to a spot that I've always adored, it seems like it's in the middle of everything. She laid the blanket out and placed the rest of our bags from Wal-Mart on top of the plain, dark red quilt. She plopped down on a place and took in the area once more. I sat down next to her and put my arm around her.

"So, Steph, what is your career plans for the future," I asked. She had never mentioned if she was still going to school, or if she was planning on going to college at all. I wanted to know what she dreamed of being one day.

"Well, I was 18 when I graduated high school. I had been a perfect student; I had a 4.0 GPA. As soon as I was out, I was applying at colleges everywhere. I was feeling rather bold one day, and applied for Boston. And, I was kind of surprised when I got IN! I stayed there for two years, and in those two years, I became absolutely exhausted. So, I'm going to sound very dumb when I say, that I somehow escaped. So, I'm not doing anything right now," she explained.

"You could afford Boston?" I said. I was astonished.

"The scholarships paid my way. Plus, my aunt Carrie paid for quite a bit of it too. I also used a little bit of my inheritance money."

I nodded.

"I still have money left over from all of that," she added.

"How much?"

"It's somewhere around 250, 000," Steph admitted. My eyes bulged out of my head. She looked at my reaction and laughed.

"You weren't expecting me to say that much, were you?"

I shook my head no.

"Well, my parents originally had quite a bit in the bank when they had died. Then my outside family had sold the house and most of the furniture…so the amount piled on. In high school, I had also saved up lots of paychecks over the years. So I put that into the account as well, and it all just built up. My uncle had let me use his car for years, so I never have bought a car. I'm saving it up for a nice home and furniture. I just want to be able to live comfortably," she told.

While she had been talking, we had begun eating. It was also getting darker outside. Fireflies were beginning to light the meadow.

"So, Paul, are you in school?" asked Steph.

"No," I sighed.

"Why not?"

"I'm just not ready. I know that may sound ridiculous, but— I just don't know."

"No, it makes sense. Kind of. You're just not ready," she finished. I nodded as I bit into a chicken leg. "Well, I want you to know, Paul, if you don't want to go into college yet you don't have to. You probably have already heard that your career would be better with a college career."

I nodded. I'm not sure if she knew how many times I've heard that speech.

"I'm going to go, soon. I promise. Honestly, you're the reason I WANT to go," I admitted to her.

"Why do you say that?"

"If we're married, I want to be able to help pay for bills or buy things that we need. I want for us to feel financially safe. I also want to be able to buy you nice things," I teased. She giggled. By this time, we were finished eating.

I laid on my back on top of the blanket. It was completely dark now. The stars twinkled in the late October sky. Connecticut was having strange weather this fall. Normally, it's almost freezing by this time of the year. However, it's been quite pleasant so far. I figured that tonight was the chilliest it's been for quite some time.

Stephanie leaned back and snuggled up next to me. I figured she was freezing. I pulled her close to my body.

"Are you comfortable?" I asked. She nodded. Her eyes were closed. I carefully pulled out my cell phone to check the time: 9:12 PM.

"I love you, Paul Levesque," she said quietly. A smile crept upon my face.

"I love you too, Steph," I responded.

Before I knew it, both Stephanie and I had fallen asleep under the stars by accident.

Please review!


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Paul's POV:

BZZZT! My leg vibrated. My eyes creaked open. Stephanie was still asleep in my arms. My phone was vibrating in my pocket. I reached down and retrieved it. I had a text. I flipped the phone open and read that it was from Shawn.

_Where the fuck are u & Steph? Mom and dad are kind of freaked out. –S_

I groaned which woke Steph up.

"What's the matter?" she asked concerned.

"Shawn texted me saying that we need to go back," I explained. Now, it was her turn to groan.

"I don't want to go," she complained. "I'm so comfortable right here!"

I checked the time on my phone. It was 12:43 in the afternoon!

"Come on, Steph. We need to go…I don't think mom and dad are too happy with me at the moment. And I'm afraid to face Lynn," I told her. I could see Lynn in my head. She was probably pacing all over the house. Guilt began to wash over me. I knew Stephanie is Lynn's best friend and I'm hogging Steph from her.

She slowly rose from the blanket and stretched high into the air. I stood up and helped her clean up our picnic from the night before.

We exited the meadow and walked carefully down the old path to the Hummer. It was definitely more worn down than the last time I had been here; I was surprised I hadn't tripped on anything last night.

We finally drove off from the meadow and into the direction of my home. She turned on the radio. She flipped through lots of channels, then sighed heavily and turned it back off.

"I wish we didn't have to go back," she commented. I had to smile a little. She had enjoyed herself, or at least I thought so.

"Does that mean that you liked the meadow?" I asked. She looked surprised at my question.

"Why even ask that? Of course I did! I liked being near you," she exclaimed. I smiled a huge smile.

"I'm glad. My favorite person loves my favorite place," I responded. She giggled and blushed. How did I get this adorable girl?

We chattered on for the next few minutes. Soon, I pulled up to my home. Mom and dad were on the front porch already. They did NOT look happy. I pulled back and parked in the garage behind the house. I locked all of the doors. Lynn came running around with mom and dad following close behind.

Lynn rushed to my door and tried to open it. "Open the fucking doors, Paul… open it! I NEED to talk to Steph! Let me talk to her! Please let me in!" she begged. I had to laugh a little.

Suddenly I heard the doors unlock. Dad had the other remote to unlock the door. Stephanie began to get out with a guilty look on her face. I followed behind her.

"Inside, now," Mom calmly said. We slowly walked inside the house and sat down on the couch in the den.

Lynn followed mom and dad. Dad gave her a mean look. She frowned and ran upstairs.

"So, tell me, Paul, where did you take Miss McMahon all night?" Dad asked suspiciously.

"I took her to a meadow in the woods," I admitted sarcastically. Well, I wasn't lying. Mom's face was priceless.

"Did you—use protection?" Mom peeped out.

Steph and I looked at each other and laughed.

"Patricia, we didn't have sex and we're not planning on doing that for quite a while," Steph giggled. Her voice sounded creamy. I wanted to hear her talk some more.

"You didn't?" Dad checked.

"No, dad. We just talked…and enjoyed each other's company. We both accidentally fell asleep," I told. He nodded. Mom grinned for a minute or so. I notice her smile turn upside down.

"That's still no excuse. We can't exactly punish Stephanie… but we are going to ground you, Paul. For two weeks. We had no idea where you were," Mom punished. I groaned.

"Mom, don't you think I'm a little _old _to be grounded? I'm 21!" I exclaimed. She rolled her eyes.

"You are still living in our house though. You're still our son," Dad stated.

I groaned again. I HATE being grounded. I always have. I feel like a criminal or a baby. Well, I should try and look at the bright side. Steph is here.

"Now, I want you to go to your room, Paul. And I want Stephanie to go to Lynn's room before she pops a vein," Dad ordered. I couldn't speak to Steph for a while? I don't care what Lynn wants. I want Steph! I should stop myself now. I sound ridiculous.

Steph skipped upstairs while I lethargically followed behind her. I loved how her hair bounced as she hopped up the stairs. Once she reached Lynn's door, I heard the door fly open and someone scream, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" I shook my head and laughed as I walked into my room. Lynn is insane.

…..

Meanwhile in Lynn's room…

Steph's POV:

Lynn shoved me in her room. "You have to spill, NOW."

"Well, we went to the movie. And it was really gross. So, we decided to leave the movie and go on a picnic. He knew this spot that he loved…so I agreed to go along. We went to Wal-Mart, got some food, and went to this field in the middle of the woods. I thought I wouldn't like it when Paul showed me. But I loved it. We had arrived at the perfect time. It was just….beautiful. There were a few wildflowers left and oh my goodness…. It was just amazing," I babbled.

She smiled and awed. "So, not to change the subject but I am anyway, when are we going shopping?"

I giggled. "It's up to you, birthday girl."

"Umm… how about on Friday?" she checked. I nodded.

"Sounds good to me."

"Now, please, sweets, get into something clean. You're grossing me out," she joked. I nodded. I looked through all of my clothes… I chose a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a grey tee-shirt. I also grabbed a pair of panties and a bra.

I ran into Lynn's bathroom and changed quickly. I wanted to spend some girly time with Lynn. I felt as if I had been ignoring her since I was with Paul all of the time.

I hurried back into her bedroom. She was watching TV.

"Do you know what I think we need? A pedicure," commented Lynn. I looked down at my toenails. They were very plain with no nail polish on them. Then I glanced at hers, her toenails were a deep red with a black dot in the middle. Hers were adorable. "Actually, I think YOU need a pedicure." I giggled.

She sat me down on the couch as she walked over to a drawer full of nail polish. She finally picked out a sparkly red. She plopped down across from me and grabbed one of my feet. She began her task.

"So, have you and Paul done it yet?" she asked plainly. I almost choked on my own spit.

"Lynn! No, we haven't done it yet. I'm surprised his own sister would want to know," I laughed.

"Of course I want to know if he's FINALLY lost his virginity!"

"Have you?" I asked curiously.

She nodded. I gasped at her. She grinned and switched to my other foot.

"I lost it to Peter, actually. He had been very sweet. That was a good night," she told. I blushed just thinking about it. "Oh, come on, Steph! I KNOW you've thought about doing it with my brother!" My face turned beet red when she said that. Could she read my mind? "See? I told you so!"

"Let's change the subject," I insisted.

"Fine. Well, have you heard from your Aunt Carrie lately?" she asked. I shook my head no. "Does she know about Paul?"

"Not yet. I'm kind of scared to tell her," I admitted.

"Are you embarrassed to be with Paul?" Lynn asked. Her voice sounded offended.

"Never! I could NEVER be embarrassed to be with that god of a man! I just don't know how her reaction will be. You know I've never been famous with the guys," I exclaimed. She seemed to relax a little more.

"Good. I'm so glad you two are dating!"

I grinned. "Thanks, Lynn. You don't know how much I appreciate hearing that."

"Why do you say that?"

"I was afraid you would not like us dating. I mean, I know Paul hasn't had great luck with people in the past. I just don't know."

"I approved of you. You should have known that when I hooked you two up!" she laughed. I smiled.

I was going to call my aunt tomorrow. I want her to know how happy I am.

A\N: I am on a roll! Two in one day.

Please review. Pretty please,


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Steph's POV:

Later that night, I grabbed my cell phone from a drawer. I never used my phone much; I didn't like to talk much on the phone. I turned it on and was surprised to find I had 73 missed calls. It was all from my Aunt Carrie. Now, I was honestly shocked that she hadn't called the police and reported me missing yet!

I found her number and called her

"Hi, Aunt Carrie!"

"_Steph? Why haven't you answered your phone?"_

"Well, I've just been busy…"

"_Do you have a job now? Where are you living?_"

"No, I don't have a job. I'm living with my friend Lynn. So, guess what?"

"_What?_"

"I have a boyfriend."

"_WHAT? What is his name, baby?"_

"Paul. He's Lynn's brother. He's so sweet and amazing."

"_When I am I going to meet him?"_

"Well, uh, I don't know. I don't get to go to Georgia everyday…"

"_Bring him to Thanksgiving this year, sweetie!"_

"He may want to be with his family on Thanksgiving, though…"

"_Nah! He'd be slow to turn down some Southern home cooking'!_"

"Well—I'll talk to him. We'd have to arrive a day or two before Thanksgiving. Would that be okay?"

"_Absolutely, child! Are you nuts?"_

"I guess I'll see you in 3 weeks then!"

"_You too! Love you!"_

"Love you too!"

Then we hung up. I felt so much better about it all now and I was counting down the days until Thanksgiving. I was hoping that I would have a job before then. If I did get a job, life would be truly perfect.

*Sorry for the short chapter but it is just a filler chapter. If I get enough reviews I will post another chapter tonight.

Also, I am not sure what story I should update next (besides this one.) So please tell me what story is your favorite, if you read all my stories.

Please review!


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Steph's POV

The next 3 weeks seemed to fly by before my very eyes. Paul and I had stayed home on Halloween while the rest of the gang went out. We watched a few scary movies when it was late at night. Paul had been all prepared in case I passed out again. It had been a nice evening.

Before I knew it, I was on the plane headed towards Georgia with Paul beside me. He was reading an issue of TIME magazine calmly. I wrapped my arm around his arm and squeezed.

"Please don't tell me you're going to pass out," Paul stuttered. He looked at me and began to rub his hands on my face trying to keep me conscious. I giggled at how concerned he was.

"I am fine. I just wanted to be close to you," I assured. He calmed down.

"Oh…well, if you wanted that, I would have made you sit in my lap! I think we both would be more comfortable that way!" he teased and tried to pull me up from my seat. I smacked his hand jokingly.

"I think just holding onto your arm is good enough for me," I laughed. He sighed heavily.

"I love you Stephanie," he said.

"I love you too, Paul," I responded. He grinned like an idiot but it was cute and it made me happy inside. How was I so lucky to get him? He's the ideal boyfriend. I mean, Paul raises the standards for boyfriends everywhere!

"Is this the first time you've ever flown?" Paul asked me. He set the magazine in the pocket in front of him. He apparently didn't realize that I had to have flown if I had moved across the country.

"Think about that one, love," I responded sarcastically. He thought for a second. Then, I saw his eyes focus on the seat in front of us while he blushed.

"Sorry, didn't think before I spoke…" he murmured. I giggled.

"It's fine."

"Let me ask a not as stupid question, how long will this flight be?" he questioned again.

"It's a 4 hour flight," I answered Paul. He groaned loudly and closed his eyes.

"Will you be THAT bored?" I asked him, astonished at his response.

"I get really antsy when I'm in the car for a long time or on a plane…then Lynn makes fun of me because I get jumpy."

"What do you mean by jumpy?"

"Well…for example, my leg will start bouncing up and down. I'LL start bouncing. Then I'll stretch a lot. Things like that," he told. I nodded.

"Sounds almost like a little kid," I teased. He grinned at me again with a slight blush in his cheeks.

"I guess you could say that….maybe this flight would be different because you're with me. I mean, I have someone I actually LIKE with me this time…" I gasped jokingly to what he said. He smiled.

"This is the first flight where I've had SOMEONE with me. Normally I'm alone," I responded.

"That kind of sucks. So—um, Steph, I've never asked but what is your favorite movie?" he changed the subject.

"I think you have asked me that before…but I'll tell you again. My answer changes a bunch, right now, it's _The Notebook. _I always had a thing for that Ryan Gosling." I giggled. His expression never changed. For some reason, I was worried he'd get all jealous.

I relaxed myself in my comfy chair. Paul insisted on first class seats. He would say, 'My Steph deserves no less than first class.' Thinking that Paul and I would get married and raise a family together, I began to picture how beautiful our children would be. I hoped that they would inherit his beauty instead of my plainness. I believed that Paul would be a great father as long as his temper didn't step in the way. It's gotten better though over the past couple of months.

My happy thoughts were broken up by a telephone ring. Paul sighed heavily as he put down the magazine once more. He picked the phone out of his pocket and looked at the front of it. He groaned and handed me the phone.

"It's Lynn. Tell her I'm asleep," he said very plainly. I took the phone from him.

Amazed, I asked Paul, "You get service up here?"

"I guess so. Answer it before she makes mom call me, please?" he pleaded.

I flipped the phone open.

"_Lynn…..what do you want?"_

"Is that how you two answer phones? Man, I think you've been around Paul too much."

"_Does he seriously do that?"_

Paul looked at me. "What did she tell you?" I shook my head at him.

"YEAH! Every time I call him, he's just like 'what do you want now?' It's kind of rude, really."

"_Hey Lynn—I hate to sound like Paul…"_

"Why would you hate to sound like me?" he asked with a hurt look on his face. I kissed him on the cheek.

"Fine, I'll quit beating around the bush… where is Paul?"

"_Asleep."_

Paul gave me the thumbs up.

"Don't lie to me, Steph. I know he's there. I heard him earlier. Could you please give him the phone?"

"_Is it something super important, Lynn?"_

She sighed. "Fine, just tell him that I may have to strangle mom and dad while he's gone. Well, mostly mom. She's been going on and on about how her baby Paul won't be with us for Thanksgiving. I just wanted him to know that he is **strongly **missed here at home."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"_I'll be sure and tell him, Lynn. Hey, listen? Can I call you back once we are at my aunt's house?"_

"Sure thing, Steph. Also, let him know that Shawn will definitely tease him for being a mama's boy."

"_Trust me, Paul will find something to make fun of him about as well. I need to go, sweets. Talk to you later?"_

"Alright. Bye."

"_Bye."_

Then we both hung up. Paul looked over.

"So, who am I going to be making fun of?" he immediately asked.

"Shawn. Lynn says that your mom won't shut up about how her baby Paul won't be with her for Thanksgiving. Shawn will tease you for being so loved, basically," I explained. He smirked.

"I'll need your help finding something to make fun of him for," he hinted with an evil grin on his face. I shook my head no.

"Nuh-uh, honey...I'm not getting into that."

"Oh, come on…it could be something we did together…" he continued while kissing my neck. The whole plane felt as if it was spinning while he did this. How does he do this to me?

"P—oh…Paul—not on the plane…" I stuttered. A flight attendant walked by with a cart full of food.

"Umm—excuse me, umm… why aren't you two the cutest newlyweds ever?" she said with a little too much cheer in her voice. The spinning world stopped when he looked up at the woman with a growl. I giggled. Paul realized what she had said and looked at me and smiled. I was sure I turned crimson. "Do either of you want anything to eat or drink? We still have a few more hours until we land in Atlanta."

Paul looked at me; I shook my head no. "No thank you, ma'am." She smiled, nodded, and continued on down the aisle.

"Well, dear husband, how exactly are we getting to my aunt's home once we land?" I asked playfully.

"I have rented a sports car for myself and my beautiful wife," he responded. I nodded.

"Do you want me to drive?"

He responded with a whiny voice, "Stephanie…. You know I think you drive absolutely too slow." I rolled my eyes.

"Just let me drive. Anyway, I know how to get to my aunt's house," I insisted. He stuck out his bottom lip and pouted. I giggled.

To mine and Paul's surprise, I yawned loudly after I stopped giggling.

"I believe, my dear, that you look tired," Paul said.

"I am tired." I hadn't slept much these past few days. Lynn had kept me up late packing. She packed my entire suitcase like a mother would. But, she would go back and for on some of the outfits… then she'd make me try them on. It was NOT fun.

"Rest for a while. Who knows? We may be in Atlanta when you wake up."

"Nah. I hate sleeping on planes," I argued.

"Steph, you need to sleep. You'll be exhausted by the time we get to Atlanta…"

"No, Paul. I don't want to sleep."

"Quit being stubborn and listen to me…just TRY and rest for me, please? You can lay your head on my shoulder if you want. If you can't go to sleep after 30 minutes, well, stay up then."

"Fine," I groaned. He grinned.

Laying my head on his shoulder didn't sound too bad… in fact; it was much more comfortable when he wrapped his arms around me. The last thing I remember before falling into a deep sleep was Paul softly kissing the top of my head. This would be a good sleep.

*Please, please review. It makes me happy inside :-) You wouldn't want to take my smile away would you? Going to update Long Lost next... A big thank you to the people the review every chapter, lets me know that at least someone is interested.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Stephanie's POV:

"Steph….Steph…." a velvety, deep voice called. I felt my shoulder being nudged. I didn't feel like opening my eyes though. Where am I? I could hear people talking softly in the background. UGH! Did I fall asleep in a store again with Lynn?

"Lynn—why have we been in this store so long? Aren't you done _yet?_" I groaned out. A man's laughter boomed throughout the busy area. Suddenly, I realized where I was and who was I with. My eyes flew open and were greeted with a laughing Paul.

"What do you and Lynn do when you guys go shopping?" Paul spurted out between laughs. I turned as red as an apple and hid my face behind my hands.

"Paul—you don't want to know…" I tried.

"What do you do? Fall asleep in the store waiting for her?" he guessed. How did he guess that the first thing? I froze and didn't look him in the face.

"Paul—why did you wake me up?" I sighed, as he stopped laughing.

"I woke you up because we were about to land…I figured it would give you some time to wake up some," Paul nodded. He kissed my nose. "Sorry I laughed at you; dear… but that was just kind of funny."

"It's fine…"

The captain came over the intercom with, "Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you have been satisfied with your flight. Now, I would like to say that we are landing in Atlanta, Georgia. Please make sure your seat belts are buckled. Thank you for flying with us today."

The plane landed very smoothly onto the ground.

"Are you excited to see your aunt again?" Paul asked. I nodded.

"I think you will love her, Paul—but, she will try her best to fatten you up," I warned him. He looked down at his stomach.

"Am I too thin?" he wondered.

"Why, no. But my aunt thinks almost everyone is too thin. I'm just saying, be prepared to eat…a LOT," I giggled. How could Paul be too thin? He was perfect.

Paul and I talked some more as we went to get our bags. The airport in Atlanta was completely packed. There were people everywhere that either just got off a plane or was about to get on a new flight. I prayed that Paul was behind me because I was heading towards the front door without stopping.

I felt someone's hand grab onto my shoulder. "Man, it's packed here…" I said uneasily. I guess I had forgotten that I could easily be considered a claustrophobic.

"Hey…" an unfamiliar voice called to me. It was not Paul. This man was about the same height, was pale with long, red, greasy hair. He almost looked like a hobo. The stranger was disgusting. "My world stopped when I saw you walking across that airport…"

"Um—thanks but no thanks…" I hissed at him. This man has _got _to be extremely desperate.

"Don't leave me hanging, sweet. Give me a kiss or something."

Now, this man was going a little overboard. Hitting on somebody is one thing—but I told him no. My right eyebrow rose automatically.

"Now listen here, _**sweet**_… I don't kiss _anybody _except my boyfriend. And I believe—that you are NOT him and never will be. Paul has way better manners" I snapped at him, I was pretty surprised at my response to this perv.

"Just give me _one…_pretend I'm Paul," he said and before I could say no, he threw himself upon me. He laid big sloppy kisses onto my face…. I tried shoving him away. I closed my eyes and made myself not look. Suddenly, the kisses stopped. I peeked out of an eye cautiously. Paul had peeled the man off of me and thrown him behind him.

"Steph, are you okay?" Paul asked frantically.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you," I said gratefully. He hugged me tightly.

Paul pulled me out of the airport and towards a little red mustang in the parking lot.

"I had lost you in the lobby a few minutes ago—well, I just figured that you had made a run for the door. I had made sure that the car would be here when we landed. I had come out to the car and put our bags in… you were still nowhere to be found. Well, I decided to brave the crowded lobby once more. That's where I found you. I'm so sorry I hadn't been there earlier to stop it. I'm so sorry—did he hurt you, Stephanie?" Paul blabbered.

"I'm fine, babe. I'm just glad you got there when you did," I commented. Before I stepped down to get into the car, Paul ran over to the passenger side. "If it makes you feel any better—that man was a terrible kisser," I tried.

Paul looked up at me and chuckled. "Only you would say that."

"Come on, Paul… Aunt Carrie may be getting worried soon. She knows we should be there around 7:30 tonight," I motioned. Paul nodded. "The bags are in here, aren't they?" I asked to make sure. He nodded.

"They're in the trunk."

Soon, we were on the road to my aunt's house. Paul was very quiet when he looked out the window.

We had been on the road for about an hour before he said anything. "I'm sleepy," he commented. I couldn't help but giggle.

"Go to sleep then," I responded.

"I don't want to. I do want to see some of the scenery here. I mean…this is the first time I've ever been to Georgia," he argued. His voice sounded weary.

"Fine, do whatever you want. This part of Georgia isn't as beautiful as the spot we're going… I think you'll love it there," I explained.

"I can't wait to see the ocean," Paul said. His voice sounded quieter.

I stopped at a stoplight and looked over, my boyfriend was sound asleep. His head was leaning up against the window. His blonde hair had fallen in front of his eyes. He looked peaceful. I leaned over and pushed his hair out of his eyes. Of course, it fell right back into place. Luckily, Paul had put one of our pillows behind my seat. I reached behind me and retrieved it to put under his head. To my surprise, he never woke up.

Finally, the light changed to green. I continued on to my aunt's house.

*Sorry that I have kind of neglected this one for Long Lost, I have just been wrapped up in that one. Remember this has already been written quite a while ago, so if you guys want me to update just tell me. Reviews help! :-)


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Paul's POV:

"Paul, get up; you can see the ocean now," Stephanie's voice called. My eyes flickered open. I tried to remember where I had been. I looked out my window and gasped at the beautiful sight before me. It was the same ocean that I had seen many times before… but the sunset behind it was amazing. The sherbet colored sky put an orange shade on the blue ocean. Also, there was a black and white lighthouse sitting near the ocean. Huge ships sailed across the ocean.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she commented. I nodded.

"Is _this _Tybee Island?" I asked sounding slightly stunned. Yes, the ocean was beautiful and the scenery was gorgeous. But I was pictured a bigger city than it was…

"Yes, it is. I grew up here basically…" she reminisced. She seemed happy to see her old home again.

"It's rather small…" I murmured.

"I know it. But it's like Connecticut. Except awesomer because of the ocean," she said matter-of-factly.

"Wow. Awesomer. I've never heard that word before," I laughed. She was so cute.

"It's one of my favorite words… well, Paul… you slept for longer than I expected. I also think that you could have slept through a tornado," she changed the subject. I looked down and realized I was holding her pillow tightly.

"How did I get a hold of this?" I asked.

"Well, I noticed you had your head leaned up against the window all weirdly… I figured your neck would hurt later. So I put the pillow under your head," Steph explained. A string of her hair fell in front of her face. I leaned over and pushed it behind her ear. She quickly glanced at me and slightly nodded thanks to me.

"Are you excited to see your aunt again?" I asked, trying to make conversation. I didn't want to tell Steph how scared I was to meet her family. What if her family didn't like me? I mean—I can be scary looking. I hoped that her aunt wouldn't try and break Steph and me up… I've heard stories about families that do that.

"Yes—I am pretty excited. I haven't seen her in what seems like forever. I miss her personality…and her cooking of course. She is the best cook in the WORLD," she said. I smiled. I remained quiet. I wasn't sure what to say.

"Paul…are you okay?" she asked. Her voice was filled with concern. Oh crap…what should I say?

"Y-yeah. I'm fine," I lied. She surprisingly bought my lie. I shouldn't have to lie to her… but I also don't want to tell her I'm terrified of her aunt.

To my surprise, Steph turned on a road that was full of large, old beach houses. All of them were beach front.

"Are we already there?" I asked with a nervous tone in my voice. She giggled and nodded.

She pulled into a driveway of a large light blue house. The house had a small balcony on the front and a huge balcony on the back. Steph drove into a garage with an old white mini-van inside. The garage had a black gate on the back wall that led to a path to the beautiful beach.

Before Steph and I could get out of the car, I saw a woman running out of a side door. She was rather short with medium length gray hair. The woman must be Steph's Aunt Carrie. Her arms were up in the air as she ran and she was smiling from ear to ear.

Stephanie flew out of the car and over to the woman's side. They embraced each other and jumped up and down. I slowly left the car, the slamming of my door startled Steph and her aunt. They stopped hugging.

"Who is this hunky gentleman?" Carrie said in a thick Georgian accent. I'm sure I turned bright red because Stephanie started laughing hysterically. My upset stomach suddenly disappeared.

"Aunt Carrie, this is my boyfriend, Paul," Steph introduced. I walked over to her aunt and held out my hand. She surprised me and hugged me tightly. The woman hugged me so tight that I couldn't breathe.

I managed to blurt out, "It's nice to meet you." She let go of me before I began to get dizzy.

"I knew you had good taste in men…" Carrie complimented to Stephanie. I turned around to get our bags when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Oh don't worry about them bags… Steph's uncle will get them."

I nodded. Carrie began to lead Stephanie into the house by her hand. I stayed where I was. Before Steph was all the way in the house, she turned around and mouthed the words "Impress her" to me. Impress her? What did she mean by that? I smirked at her response as I followed her into the large house.

I was in the kitchen immediately. Carrie had sat Steph down at a large kitchen table. The room was a light yellow with wooden cabinets. All the appliances were stainless steel. The kitchen was huge. There was a large walk-in pantry next to the side door that was stocked full of food. There was a shelf next to the pantry that was completely full of cookbooks. I had a feeling my mom would be slightly envious of the beautiful kitchen.

There were a few pots on the stove that smelt delicious.

"Come here, baby," Carrie motioned for me to come over to the stove. She held a spoon in her hand that had a red sauce in it.

"What is that?" I asked.

"It's my special marinara sauce. I don't do that from a jar junk….most of the time," she murmured the last phrase. She basically shoved the wooden spoon in my mouth. I swallowed the delicious sauce. It was unlike any other sauce I had ever tasted before.

"Holy crap," I said after my mouth was clear. "Is that homemade?"

She nodded. "Of course it's homemade. George thinks Ragu tastes too tomatoey."

"Well, if everything you cook tastes as good as this, I cannot wait to eat tonight," I complimented, Carrie smiled.

"Aunt Carrie—I know it's awfully early to ask this, but what are we having for dinner?" Stephanie asked with a grin on her face. It felt as if I could read her mind…she was happy I was getting along with her aunt.

"Well, we're having your favorite…. pasta with my homemade sauce. I'm also making my homemade garlic bread as well," Carrie said, while Stephanie's face lit up.

"Steph, I didn't know you liked Italian food," I commented still standing where I was.

"Oh, honey, she loves it," Carrie answered for Stephanie. Wow, I guess I learn something every day, I thought. Carrie slapped my lower back and softly shoved me over towards Steph.

"Go play on the beach with your girlfriend while I cook…I'll get George to get your bags and bring them to your room…" she began.

Steph interrupted her, "Wait….you just said room."

"Well, are you all going to be having sex or something?" she asked very bluntly. I was taken aghast. Stephanie began to choke.

"No, ma'am. We are not planning anything of that sort," I answered for Steph. Carrie chuckled at my answer.

"Steph you need to keep this one. He has good manners. But, fine, as long as you all won't be up there making love, I don't care. I trust you, Stephanie. And I trust you, Paul. You seem nice enough," she complimented.

"Why, thank you," both Stephanie and I said at the same time.

"Go take a walk on the beach… I think it's too cold outside to wade in the water. But, just go walk," Carrie rushed us out of the kitchen. I took Stephanie's hand as we headed towards the water.

I realized after this first meeting that this would be a very fun holiday.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Paul's POV:

Once we began to really see the beach, Steph began to walk faster and faster. She pulled me over a little wooden foot bridge that covered a large ditch with bushes and colorful flowers in it. Finally, we were down on the beach. Steph inhaled the sea air and smiled.

"I love Connecticut but I've missed the ocean so much," she said. I kissed her on the cheek.

"Question…do I _impress _you?" I asked trying to choke back a laugh. She blushed and smiled.

"Okay, let me explain that…" she tried.

I interrupted her, "No, answer my question. I think I understand what 'impress someone' means, but do I impress _you_?"

"I wanted to…" she began again.

"Do I impress you?" I asked again, slightly raising my voice. I was grinning.

"Define impress…" Stephanie stalled.

I sighed. I ran over and grabbed her waist and started kissing her neck hard. I felt her body go a little limp. Her breathing became faster. I finally stopped and looked at her in the eyes. She seemed hazy.

"Now, answer me… do I impress you?" I asked calmly. She nodded. "Now…that's what I was looking for. Let's go on a walk."

"You may have to carry me around the beach. Because after that, I don't think I can move," she said faintly. I laughed.

"Silly Steph." She gave me a confused look. "Always be careful what you wish for."

I stood in front of her and turned my back to her. "Hop on piggy back style."

"Are you serious? I may hurt your back…" she murmured.

"Oh come on, Steph. What do you weigh? 250? Just hop on." I heard her sigh.

She groaned, "Paul—I don't want to. I may get dizzier or something."

"You said I'd have to carry you around the beach. Get on."

Soon, I felt her jump on my back and wrap her arms around my neck. I put my hands under her legs to support her.

"Are you holding on tight, baby?" I asked to make sure. I would never let myself live it down if she got hurt basically because of me. The airport thing almost killed me today. What if that man raped my Stephanie? My Steph? I would be so disappointed in myself for not protecting her. I don't protect her enough. That'd be my fault.

My negative thoughts were broken by Stephanie calling my name.

"Paul? Woo-hoo? Hello?" she kept asking while waving her hand in front of my face.

"Umm… I'm sorry, honey. So…are you holding on tight?" I asked again.

"I said yes. What's the matter, babe?" she asked.

"Nothing. I was thinking about something unimportant. I zone out every once in a little while," I explained.

She kissed the back of my head and said in my ear, "If you need to talk about something, I'm here for you."

I am so lucky.

"Thank you, love. Now… let's start walking around so your aunt can finish dinner."

"Paul…do you like my aunt?" she asked once we began moving across the beach.

"Of course I like her. I think she seems like a fun person to be around. She's not quite like your personality though…she seems a little blunter," I joked.

"Yes. Over the years I have been embarrassed by her before in front of friends or someone important… like, a few minutes ago, I was a little embarrassed," she admitted as we walked.

"It was fine and rather amusing. I thought my parents were the only people who were that blunt. I was wrong," I laughed. Steph remained silent for a few more minutes. And for once, the silence didn't really bother me. I, at least, felt like we were just enjoying each other's presence.

"What do you want for Christmas, Paul?" she asked softly.

"Steph, I think it's a little early to be asking me this, don't you think?"

"I don't have much money that I can use for Christmas, Paul. I want to get you something really nice this year. Sometime to make you happy… I mean… you've made me really happy. I want to do the same for you," she quietly said. She sounded sad. She was so sweet.

"Steph—I don't need anything from you. Except you, of course," I responded. I couldn't see her… but I knew she had rolled her eyes at my response.

"That's sweet. But I want to get you something," she stated.

I dragged her body around so I carried her bride style. She was giggling hysterically and screaming.

"I _told you that it was __too__ early!_" I emphasized sharply.

"Paul!" she called out. "Put me dooooown!"

I set her down softly on her feet.

"Paul…don't make me beg," she tried. I chuckled at her effort.

"What are you begging for, my dearest girlfriend?" I teased.

She pouted, "I want to know what to get you for Christmas."

"Stephanie, do you know me and my personality?"

"Yeah."

"Then you should know what to get me. I promise you, you could get me a thing of toilet paper and I would be absolutely grateful," I explained. She giggled at my example. I realized then that I hadn't told her about me applying for the job. We began walking again. This time, we were walking hand in hand.

"Now, baby, I meant to tell you this the day I went… but I just… I don't know," I began. Her expression suddenly changed to sadness. What did I do wrong? Did I say something?

"Are you…cheating on me?" she gulped. I didn't mean to, but I could not help but laugh at her question. After laughing for a few minutes, I looked into her eyes. There were tears forming in her eyes. My heart broke at my ignorance.

"Yeah—I was cheating on you with Lynn when I went with her to apply for a job," I assured her. Although, she didn't believe me.

"Who's Lynn?" she asked sounding very offended.

"My sister. What I was trying to tell you before I was rudely interrupted was that I applied for a job to work at the gym," I explained. I saw her calm down and a smile spread across her face. Suddenly, she was jumping into my arms and hugging me.

"AH! I'm so happy for you, Paul! I hope you get it! Sorry about my yelling… I am a little hormonal today," she admitted.

"I love working out and training, Steph." I told. Stephanie smothered me with kisses.

"When will you know if you got the job?" she wondered.

"Mom will call me."

Steph squealed again.

"Let's play in the water," said Steph who had a mischievous grin on her face.

"We're not in our swimsuits," I stalled.

"So? We'll roll the bottoms of our pant legs up. Come on….don't be such an old hag," she played. Before I knew it, she was at my feet rolling up my pants for me. "Sit down," she ordered. I obeyed.

Soon, she had thrown my socks and Converse sneakers aside. I laughed at how excited she was. She took off her shoes and socks and put them next to mine. Steph rolled her pants up quicker than I've ever seen her move. Then, she pulled me up and out of the sand and into the ocean. The water was pretty cold as it hit my legs.

It was even colder when Stephanie splashed me. I growled and splashed her in return. She squealed.

"It's a little cold, isn't it?" I asked loudly. She laughed while she nodded.

We played like this for about 15 minutes. By the time we got out of the water, we were both soaking wet.

While putting on our dry shoes, I said to Steph, "Let me carry you back to your aunt's house. I'm sure it will be quicker."

She shook her head no.

"Is it because the fact is that you're scared I'll drop you? Or because you may get motion sickness?" I named off the choices.

"The second one."

"Ah…"

"I don't think you'll drop me."

"Would you rather get motion sickness or be in dry clothes? Because I bet you that you are cold right now," I bet.

"I am very cold right now. I'll be fine though," she argued. I rolled my eyes while I stood up.

"I'm carrying you back whether you like it or not," I stated plainly. She groaned as I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.

"Great, I can pass out when all the blood rushes to my head," Steph said sarcastically.

"Well, sit up then!" She did what I told her.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Yes, sir," she answered. I rolled my eyes and headed back towards Aunt Carrie's. I was excited to hear what she said about the both of us. By now, it was dark outside and the starts were twinkling in the sky. It was a romantic night.

"Paul?" Stephanie called.

"Yes?"

"I love you. You know that right. I may not have much money that I can spend everywhere I wanted; I can't afford things the way you can, but… I don't know. I guess I'm just worrying too much," she said sadly.

"Yes, you are worrying too much. Quit it. It's very unbecoming."


End file.
